Christmas Santa Manicure

Merry Christmas!

Zoya Holly

I put one coat of Zoya Holly over another manicure.  That is why it looks so funky in places, it isn't the polish's fault.  Holly is a gorgeous metalic green that is perfect for Christmas or St. Patrick's Day. 

Christmas Sweater Nails

The base of this is Zoya Ginessa.  I used Zoya Holly, Zoya Jade, and the Nailz Craze 03 stamping plate.  I painted the colors in stripes and then scraped the polish off in the same direction. 

Zoya Ginessa

This is Zoya Ginessa. It is my fault (not Ginessa's fault) the polish on my middle finger is messed up.  Ginessa is a white glass fleck foil finish.  It is great for snow in manicure art.  Unlike other Zoya foil finishes, this one is a little grainy and you have to be careful when applying it to make sure it goes on even.  I'll have to try again sometime to get a picture in daylight.  It was sub zero temps so I took this pic inside. 

Gold and Matte Green Ruffian

The gold polish is Rimmel Gold Silk and the matte green is Revlon Emerald City.  I really liked the contrast between the matte green and the shiny gold.  I need to stop trying to do ruffian manicures, because I'm just not good at them.  I need to just do half moon manicures with circular page protectors instead.

Snowmen nails

The base color for this manicure is Wet 'n Wild Megalast I Need a Refresh Mint.  I used Zoya Ginessa for the snow.  I like the hand where I did "waves of snow" better then the one where I was hoping for something similar to icicles or snow sliding off a roof.  I also used Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Wet 'n Wild I Red a Good Book, Essie Brazilliant, and dotting tools. 

Gray Sweater Nails

The base is Zoya Harley and I stamped with Zoya Noot and the Nailz Craze 03 stamping plate.  I think stamping with a black polish would have given more contrast and looked better. 

Zoya Payton

This picture does not do Zoya Payton justice.  It is a plumb jelly polish with holographic glitter.  When the sunlight hits it, it has a magical glow.   The jelly base looks squishy and it is lit from within with glowing holographic sparkles that shimmer in rainbow colors.  Unfortunately, without direct sunlight, this Superman polish becomes Clark Kent again.  This is a problem for me since I have to wear gloves from October to April and there is often cloud cover.  If you get sun during the winter, you need this pretty polish. 

China Glaze Mahogany Magic

This is China Glaze Mahogany Magic.  I melted this manicure almost immediately in the toaster.  :(
I used Milani Good Morning Sunshine and the Salon Express Stamping kit (as seen on TV) for the next manicure. 

 

Then, another time I used the same polishes and the Konad M60 plate.  I should have done a nude manicure and stamped it with Mahogany Magic for more contrast.  

Glowing Halloween Manicure

This is my second Halloween manicure this year.  I used dotting tools, Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Wet 'n Wild French White Creme, and three layers of Sally Girl glow in the dark polish.  With all the layers of glow in the dark polish, the eyeballs are pretty bumpy.  I had a hard time making straight line eyeballs on the "snake eyes". 

Halloween Manicure

I did most of this manicure with dotting tools. I did the spider web with nail art brushes.  I just don't have any luck with nail art brushes.  I used Revlon Cherry Berry, Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Wet 'n Wild French White Creme, and an old silver polish. 

Konad M60 on a Noname ELF Polish

The color of this ELF polish looks awful in the bottle.  It looks so bad that I tried to sell it at a rummage sale.  Even when it went to the half off table, it didn't sell.  So, I thought I might as well try this polish that was handed down to me.  I love the color on the nails.  It is a good thing no one would buy it at the rummage sale.  I didn't wear the ELF polish long enough to have an opinion on the brand. 

I broke a nail shortly before this manicure, so I had to file down all my other nails.  This makes most people sad.  I, however, see it as an opportunity.  My black or nearly black nail polishes look so much more chic on shorter nails (IMHO).  Also, I can use my Konad M60 plate.  The full nail images on this plate are too small for my nails at their usual length. They are still not wide enough or long enough for my thumbs at this length, but they fit better. 

Sunflower Manicure

This manicure was much cuter on pinterest, but aren't they all. Wet 'n Wild Megalast I Need a Refresh Mint as the base, and China Glaze Foie Gras and Spoiled Mind Your Beeswax.  I used a dotting tool for the brown centers and a nail art brush for the petals.  The nail art brushes aren't working the way I hoped they would.  It is hard to get an even stroke of polish.  Perhaps I would have better luck using craft paint. 

NYC Tudor City Teal

NYC Tudor City Teal is a positively gorgeous color.  It reminded me of carved jade.  I messed up on the application, so I only wore it one day.  So, I can't comment on how well this wears, and this is my first NYC polish.  If I knew for sure it wore well, I'd tell everyone to run out and buy it.  So pretty.  The first coat is a thin, uneven mess, but it covered evenly in two coats.  I'm not the best at identifying jellies, but I believe this is a jelly.  It isn't sheer, but it has a lovely squishy, jelly-ness about it.  I'm going to love this in the first part of the year and in the spring (assuming it wears O.K.). 

Zoya Jules

Zoya Jules was such a disappointment. I don't know if I got a dud bottle or what happened.  I've seen Jules other places online and it glows with gold glass fleck shimmer in the same way other Zoyas with foil finishes do.  My bottle just has some gold shimmer, but it does not have the lovely Zoya foil finish.  Jules is a cool toned taupe with gold shimmer.  This is two coats, but you would need another coat to cover the visible nail line.  The taupe color isn't great for my skin tone.  I haven't figured out any way to use this polish yet.  Booooo!
I tried a gradient with Rimmel Pro Rags to Riches (green) and Zoya Daul (purple).  Oops.  I did unintentional Mardi Gras nails.  Then I tried with Rags to Riches (green) and Zoya Hazel (blue).  Meh.  Hopefully I'll find a way that I like Jules.

O.P.I. Love This Color

Sorry, but I don't love this color.  I don't love O.P.I. either.  O.P.I only wears O.K. for me.  I Love This Color is a browned red.  It is an O.K. color on me, not great.  I liked it better when I stamped it with gold polish.  I used the apple stamp from the Salon Express kit.  It doesn't look much like an apple when stamped on the nail.  It looks a little bit like an old school T.V.  I'll try a different stamp next time.

Zoya Noot

Zoya Noot is a charcoal gray leaning green. When I was painting my bathroom gray, I had a hard time finding a paint that would look true gray.  They looked taupe or blue, but not gray.  I have the same issue with gray nail polish.  After I did some research on the internet, I found out that grays that lean green appear true gray.  This is sort of true for Noot.  It does look true gray in most lights.  Sometimes it looks green/gray.  It is a bit stark for me to wear Noot on it's own.  I'll probably pair it with a light gray and do nail art most of the time I use it.  Below it is with a Wet 'n Wild Kaleidoscope glitter gradient.  Meh.  That was O.K. 

Zoya Shay

Zoya Shay is a good nude cream for me.  I'll probably use it mostly for nail art.  I'm not much of a nude polish person, but it is a good idea to own a good nude in case you want one.  Below I tried doing a French tip with my nail art brushes.   Not so much.  My unsteady hand made a wonky French tip.  Next time I'll just use the brush that comes in the polish.  I have better luck with that. 

Zoya Breezi

Zoya Breezi manages to somehow be bright and dusty at the same time.  It was from a summer collection but I think it is a great fall blue cream polish. I really like this one.

Zoya muse

I was thrilled with Zoya Hazel, two coats.  Hazel is a blued gunmetal gray with a foil finish.  Like almost all of Zoya's foil finishes, this one almost glows with glass fleck shimmer in the sunlight.  Below I added a navy french tip with Rimmel Pro Midnight Blue

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Wet 'n Wild Dream Poppy

 

This is Wet 'n Wild Dream Poppy. I think this is a good color for me.  Turns out, I just don't love pink-y corals.  Weird.  I should like them because this is cute.  The wear on this one was just O.K., but I don't remember how long it lasted.  Below is with Hard Candy Black Tie Optional over the top.  

Zoya Heidi

I finished off my favorite coral polish, China Glaze Coral Star.  I wanted something different because Coral Star is discontinued, I wanted a different brand that wears better on me, and Coral Star has a metallic finish and I wanted a cream finish.  I decided to go with Zoya Heidi.  It is about 3/4 cream and 1/4 jelly finish, so sort of a crelly.  It is very orange.  It is also closer in color to Zoya Elodie then I wanted it to be.  I do really like it though, even if it isn't my dream coral polish. 

Tape Manicure

I painted my nails with Zoya Elodie and let them dry.  I put scotch tape on the back of my hand to remove some of the stick.  Then I masked off my nails, painted them with Orly Luxe, and removed the tape.  I added a top coat.  I think I would like this design better with other colors.

Braided Nails

This was my first attempt at braided nails using a no name Sally Girl turquoise, Essie Trophy Wife, and Spoiled Deeper Dive.  The brush on Deeper Dive was a bit too wide for a braided manicure.  It is better to have traditional brushes and not the wide brushes.  And I smudged it because there were so many layers of polish on the tips.  I'll definitely attempt this again.  Maybe I can find some colors that aren't so bright.  :)

Pink and Blue Needle Marble

 

This is s needle marble technique done with Rimmel Pro Posh Pink and Sinful Colors Aquamarine.  I finished with NYC Matte Me Crazy.  To do the needle marble, you need to start with a base polish that will cover in about one coat.  Add a coat, a bit thick if necessary.  Add drops of your 2nd (and maybe 3rd) color.  Drag a needle (I used a dotting tool with a pointed end.) through the second color to marble the polish.  You may want to drag the needle starting from the base color into the second color as well.  I preferred  the nails where I added less of the 2nd color.  I tried several different designs.  I forgot that when I added the matte top coat the second day the polish underneath would soften up.  That is how the nails in the first pic got smudged. 

Pink Dots

This is Essie Super Bossa Nova, an old white polish, and NYC Matte Me Crazy.  I used a dotting tool to do pink/white, white/pink, matte/shiny, and shiny/matte dots.  Meh.  It's O.K.  I probably wont do it this design again. 

China Glaze Rare and Radiant

I have a thing for duo chrome polishes (polished that change color depending on the angle the light hits them).  I think they are just so cool.  The problem is, most duo chrome polishes are made in colors that aren't flattering to my skin tone.  China Glaze Rare and Radiant is beautiful, but not beautiful on me.  It has a duochrome that changes from a gold/bronze (pinky finger) to a blue/green (index finger).  Pay no attention to the spot I missed on my thumb. :)  Neither color in this polish is especially flattering to me.  :(  This polish is one of the many dupes for Chanel Peridot that was so popular a year or two ago.  I bought this polish for my niece.  Shhhh.  Don't tell her.  Her mom doesn't read my blog, so I think my secret is safe.  I think these colors are made for her. 

Color Club Harp On It

I had really high expectations for Color Club Harp On it and I was sure there was no way this polish could possibly live up to them.  However, Harp On It has managed to meet or exceed the very high bar I set for it.  This is my first holographic nail polish.  The hologram effect is really strong.  The effect shows up great in sunlight.  You can still see the holographic effect if there is some ambient light (lamp, window, etc.)  However, this pretty polish turns into a boring gray in shade or on cloudy days.  On cloudy days this Superman polish turns into mild mannered Clark Kent.  You need to check the weather forcast before you apply it.
Holographic polishes are know for being temperamental.  I've read that you need very smooth nails for a base, holographic polishes only work with certain base coats, top coats can dull the holographic effect, and that they chip in a day or so.   I didn't buff my nails first, and even my somewhat ridge-y thumb looked fine.  I skipped the base coat, so I can't speak to that.  The holographic effect wasn't dulled by my top coat, NYC Grand Central Station.  And it did not chip until day six and I was very hard on this manicure. 
I expected to feel a bit like a futuristic 70's disco robot with this polish on.  However, I just felt like a regular person who was wearing an awesome nail polish.  I believe you pretty much have to get Color Club polishes online.  I bought mine on Amazon.com.  I'm extremely impressed with Color Club Harp On It and I am totally and completely in love.

Sunset nails

This is another manicure that everyone who does nail art tries at least once.  I started out with a base of Wet 'n Wild French White cream so the yellow show up better.  I painted on two coats of Spoiled Mind Your Own Beeswax to the bottom half and one coat of Wet 'n Wild Dream Poppy to the top.  Then I sponged Essie Brazilliant onto the center section to blend the two colors together.  Frankly, I could have done a better job with the gradient.  I used the Salon Express stamping kit for the palm trees.  The palm tree stamp worked really well from that kit.  Designs from that kit are hit and miss. The thumb only needed one palm tree.   I used a dotting tool and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme for the "land" at the bottom of the nail.  I liked them, and I'll do this again. 

Wet 'n Wild Frosted Over

This is Wet 'n Wild Frosted Over.  It is a duo chrome glitter polish that changes from aqua to lilac/pink.  I has large glitter pieces that do not have the color shift.  The large pieces of glitter ruin this polish for me.  They make it much harder to notice the duo chrome color shift, and I'm all about the duo chrome.  If the large glitter wasn't there, this glitter polish would be on the edge of my comfort zone.  With the large glitter, it pushes it over the edge into a Disney princess nightmare.  This will be strictly pedicures and glitter gradients for me.  I layered this over a old pink polish to bring out the duo chrome. 

4th of July

This is my 4th of July manicure this year.  I started with a base of Wet 'n Wild French White Creme.  Then I taped off the french tips and stamped with an old Wet 'n Wild blue and the Salon Express stamping kit.  I tried several techniques, some involving tape some not for the stripes.  They all were a big 'ole fail.  I will alternate the nails between red and white on the bottoms next year instead.  The red is Wet 'n Wild Megalast I Red a Good Book. 

Orly Luxe

Orly Luxe is a tad too green for my skintone.  This is my second bottle of Orly polish and Orly and I just don't get along.  It starts chipping in a day. 

I used Wet 'n Wild I Need a Refresh Mint to do a ruffian manicure.  I should have gone all the way to the sides and not left the gold strip on the side of the nail.  You can do a ruffian either way, but I prefer the look with the gold just on the bottom and not the sides.  I also think it would be easier to do the bottom curve if I went all the way to the sides.  I did have better luck with the wide, flat brush of Megalast vs. when I tried doing a ruffian with a traditional polish brush.  Maybe next time I'll get the ruffian manicure right.