glow-n-the-dark

Time to bust out the super toxic glow-in-the-dark polishes!  It is super hot pink (think hi-lighter) when it is under light.  Just looks like a normal paint job.  But in a super dark place . . .

It is just fun!  It is wicked toxic (not 3-free at all) but I figure once a year is not that bad.

halloween swirl

I have always wanted to try a water marble but the mess and daunting clean up have kept me away.  Enter the toothpick!  It doesn't have the clean grandness of a perfect water marble but it does have a fun swirl and marble.

It is very easy and rather fun.  It just takes a little bit longer to dry.  But I would rather wait an extra 5-10 minutes of dry time vs dousing my cuticles in acetone to remove the overage.

So how was this done?  Just lay down the base coat (clear) and let dry.  Figure out which colors you want to use (I used four - two orange and two black) and open all of them so they are easy to access.  One finger at a time -  paint the base coat with any of the four polishes. Quickly drop a couple of drops of polish on the nail of the different colors (1 drop of each, at least two colors).  The more colors, the smaller the drops.  The smaller the nail, the smaller the drops.  Quickly use a toothpick and swirl the polish around.  The polish will be on the thicker side so it needs to dry a bit before even applying the top coat.

I am so happy the way this turned out.  I am definitely going to be trying this method again with some other colors.

OPI - Deutch You Want Me Baby?
Sinful Colors - Courtney Orange, Secret Admirer, Black on Black

grays

Super easy paint job!  It still fits with this time of year since it is getting dark so early now.  Just five different polishes, then top with a large silver stud.

The pointer finger polish is a bit on the blue side but does still work overall.  It also would have been too big of a hue jump between the middle finger gray and the black.

I always forget how much I like these studs.  They are large but they are very thin.  Somehow they don't stick out too much even on the curved nails.  They are also large enough to make a statement.

Sinful Colors - Cool Gray, Black on Black, Jungle Trail, Smokin
Sally Hansen - White On

fall gradient

It's fall!!  I have to sweep my deck everyday because of all the leafs.  It feels like midnight when it is only 8pm (I miss sunshine).  Time to bust out the fall colors.

Another quick glitter gradient.  A deep orange (burnt umber-ish) with a bronze/gold glitter on the tips.  Nothing fancy.  It looked a little odd when I first applied it.  The orange just does not work my skin tone.  But the gold really helps tone it down.

OPI - Deutsch You Want Me Baby?
Sinful Colors - All About You

candy corn

It's that time of year, the time of year when candy corn is everywhere.  I never buy any but some always ends up in my house.  I actually don't mind candy corn (the fall corn that has a hint of chocolate flavor is best) but can only eat about 5 pieces at a time.

It might not be the best of the holiday candy but it does make for a great paint job.  I actually bought this orange and yellow polish for exactly this paint job (last year though).  You could make this paint job neat and tidy by using tape.  Since my nails are all so different in size, tape would have taken forever.  I found an easier solution.  Base coat the entire nail white.  Paint the bottom yellow, top white again.  The middle doesn't have to be clean or neat because it will be covered by the orange.  Then just swipe the orange polish over the middle, top with a clear coat and it's done.

Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow, White On, Sun Kissed

ghost eyes

Besides the obvious candy corn paint job, I love crazy ghost eye paint jobs this time of year.  It is  spooky (G rated) but cute enough for every day. Just realized how many lines I have on my hands/fingers.  Yikes, no amount of lotion/cuticle oil will make them go away, it's always been this way.  It's always has and will annoy me.

Usually it is over a black paint job but I tried it over a deep red/purple.  I think it still works.  It was hard to get the red/purple to show up in a photo.  In normal natural light it appears as it does in the top photo.

This is such a quick and easy paint job.  Just quick color base coats & let dry.  Then use a dotting tool (or end of a bobby pin) to make two large white dots.  Let dry a bit.  Then add black dots.  Let dry completely before applying a top coat.

OPI - Lincoln Park After Dark
Sinful Colors - Black on Black
Sally Hansen - White On

claws

Still long nails so I decided to go with a paint job that accents the length.  These remind me of something you would see on a female villain in a movie.

Just the normal paint job, but I added the square studs near the tips.  This really makes my nails look super long.  And oddly enough, with the studs at the tips, I am not fiddling with them.  When I have studs and/or rhinestones on my nails, I catch myself running my other fingers over them.

OPI - On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Pin Up

Pair this with some black stilettos with red soles and some red lipstick and its a look.  Again, my nails are still long so it looks a bit odd with the red polish.

I went with a silver base on the ring and pointer finger.  Then the red on the other three.  Two coats of a red & silver glitter polish on the pinky and ring.  Add some black vinyl decals on the pointer finger and it is a look.  Right after I applied the top coat to my nails, I remembered I have this great black jelly polish that has a lot of red glitter.  This would have been a great polish for this paint job.  It would have changed the over all look and made it much more of a night time look.

OPI - Gettin' Miss Piggy With It
Essie - A List
Sally Hansen - Celeb City

blue dots

Dots, dots and more dots.  A simple light blue base coat & two rounds of blue dots.  Nothing fancy.

The light blue base color does have a micro pink glitter undertone which adds a bit a pop to it.  Strangely, I do like darker blue nails, but I am not sure if I am keen about the light blue.  Or at least this polish.

Sinful Colors - Cinderella, Why Not, Rain Storm

gradient

I saw this on another blog and love the deep red to silver gradient.  I cannot remember the blog and didn't bookmark the page because it was rather simple.

Just a normal gradient with silver as the base color.  What's funny is with the darker tips, my nails look short.  This is a great winter look.  Now I want to try it with a gold to red.  I just don't have a gold that is the same as this silver.  I can't find a gold that is like liquid gold.  They are either too yellow or all glitter.

China Glaze - Sugar Plum
Sally Hansen - Celeb City