Polka Polish

NOTD: Milani Digital

2012-05-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Shade

Today I have for you another difficult-to-photograph polish, Milani Digital. The constraints of travel are making it a bit tricky for me to do nail art, but maybe I'll have time to get some stamping done before we get back on the road.

Weak sun

Digital is a medium pink, and looks spectacularly sedate and unremarkable in shade. If you look closely, you can notice a bit of the rainbow shine indoors, but for the most part it looks quite professional. In the sunlight, on the other hand, it gives off an amazing rainbow of sparkle.

The holographic sparkle in Digital is fairly well-dispersed, and it doesn't make very strong linear rainbows. It does show up much better in real-life than in photos, though... the camera didn't want to pick up all the colors with equal intensity.

I used a layer of the Sinful Colors Basecoat followed by three coats of Milani Digital and a top coat of NYC... Hopefully I can come up with something more exciting for my next manicure.

Week 3.1: Yellow for vacation

2012-05-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finally settled into our routine at my grandparents' house in northern Wisconsin, which is a nice change from the perpetual driving. Our vacation routine generally includes a walk or two every day, some fishing, a 20 mile bike ride (occasionally this involves a stop at the ice cream parlor), making dinner, and playing games. The bike rides are really helpful for keeping me on my calorie goals while on vacation... and I have been counting religiously! Hopefully everything will come out well on the far end of this trip.

In case you haven't already noticed, I think you'll be seeing a lot more of this black jacket before the vacation is over! It's just the right length to go with high-waisted skirts and piles of bangles. I'm amazed how much yellow I packed... it's never been my favorite color, but I've accumulated a few yellow pieces in the last couple months, so they came on vacation with me.

Shirt: American Eagle

Jacket: Forever 21

Circle Skirt: Handmade by me

Petticoat: Evangeline's

Bangles: Various

Shoes: Reflection (hey, I only packed 4 pairs of shoes...)

Hair Flowers: I made the pansies, the others are from Icing,

NOTD: Coral Stone

2012-05-27T19:41:00.001-07:00

Well hello! Some blogger I am... It turns out that my grandparents' house (where I am now) has no internet, so all of us technically inclined visitors are seeking out what dribs and drabs of WiFi we can find floating about. I finally got around to re-painting my nails with a color that Boyfriend's mother gave me before I went away on vacation... this is Mary Kay Coral Stone.

Coral Stone is a remarkably opaque polish that sits on the border between a jelly and a creme formula. I only used 2 coats for these photos, and the color felt remarkably opaque. The color is a bright juicy neon coral, somewhere between a neon red-orange and a neon peachy pink.

I thought the neon color was appropriate both for the summery weather we've been enjoying and to match my neon bike clothes! I think I may have to use Coral Stone as a summer pedicure color, it's so bright and tropical-looking.

I'm not sure how color accurate the photos are... they look close but a little dull on my computer, and too bright and not pink enough on my dad's computer, which I'm using to write this post. I think the bottle photo is the most color accurate.

I promise more blog posts soon (I've just repainted my nails, and I took outfit photos this morning!) which I will put up if I can scrounge any more internet!

From the Vault: China Glaze Ruby Pumps

2012-05-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Why hello! Hopefully, by the time this post goes live we will have reached our intended destination. Unfortunately, I still have not gotten an opportunity to paint my nails (it's shocking, I know!) but I rummaged around in my photo folder and found a few unposted pictures of one of my all-time favorite—and most difficult to photograph—polishes: China Glaze Ruby Pumps. When I want to feel feminine and powerful, I grab this sparkle-packed red.

I've tried to photograph this polish for the blog a few times, but I've never been totally happy with my pictures... I think these are the best of all my attempts. Which is why you have three photos here that are almost identical... but not quite.

Ruby Pumps is a rich true red jelly with bright red glitter suspended in it. The result is a squishy finish that has a lit-from-within look, thanks to the glitter peeking out. It does lean ever-so slightly towards the blue end of the spectrum, so ladies with warmer skin tones might want to seek out one of the many dupes to find a red with yellowish undertones. In my swatches, I used about three coats to get complete coverage. You'll also need to load up on topcoat—Ruby Pumps dries to a somewhat gritty finish. I used two coats of NYC Grand Central Station in my photos. Removal isn't too bad—better than a plain glitter, although worse than a glitter-free nail polish. To avoid hassle, you might want to go for the foil removal method.

What do you think of Ruby Pumps? Do you own it or one of its dupes?

Week 2.3: Rushmore

2012-05-24T06:30:00.000-07:00

The most recent stop on our whirlwind tour of the western half of the United States was at Mount Rushmore. I must say, I was completely unprepared for the spectacle of the whole thing.

There's me, loaded up with camera bag, sweater, and picnic dinner standing on level 6 (!!!) of the Mount Rushmore parking structure, waiting to head in. The place is set up almost like an Americana version of Disneyland, with many entrance lanes for cars and a huge stone pedestrian gateway. Before you get to the monument, you walk past a giant gift shop, a cafe, an ice cream parlor, and audio tour areas... it's really crazy.

There's a line of flags leading up to the monument, representing all of the US states and colonies. Later in the evening, everything is lit up.

Requisite tourist pose! I tried to get a photo of my family with their heads lined up as though they were part of the statue.

(look, no nail polish!)

Outfit details today...

Shirt: Aeropostale

Jacket: Forever21

Skirt: Article Consignment

Bakelite & Lucite: Various

Shoes: Reflection

Hair Flower: Icing

Week 2.2: Grand Tetons & Yellowstone

2012-05-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely readers! I hope you will forgive me the lack of nail posts of late... Travel and nail painting do not pair well, and although I've brought supplies I have not had an opportunity to use them yet.

I will need to post a more extensive trip review when this whole thing is over... Since I last posted, we drove through the rest of Nevada, Idaho (where we visited Craters of the Moon), and into Wyoming, where we camped overnight in the edge of Grand Tetons. All of the bear warning signs made camping quite exciting!

After being awoken at 5am by the Loudest Birdsong Chorus Ever, we gobbled down our breakfast and drove into the Grand Tetons where we took copious photos.

The day's activities required comfortable clothes and practical shoes, and since I have yet to master vintage-styled casual wear, my outfit consisted of...

Jeans & Shirt: American Eagle

Sweater: Target

Shoes: Forever21 (with Dr. Scholl's insoles for comfort)

Hat: Swiped from Mom

Lucite Bangle: Antiques mall

Our next stop was Yellowstone, which was as stunning as expected. I could not possibly show you all of my photos, I took so many! Perhaps I will put up a link if I upload them all later? But, I have to show you the highlight of the trip...

...Old Faithful! We mostly stayed in the southern portion of the park, and looked at loads of geysers and other fun geothermal areas. We also saw lots of antelope and bison, although (thankfully!) no bears.

Ok, let's talk details. Since I'm out on vacation, I can't do weigh-ins on Wednesday. I've been counting calories using MyFitnessPal, and I don't think I've gone much over on any day--we've been doing our best to get some walking in--but the car snacks and the dinners out have been taking their toll! My parents packed some evil 100-calorie peanut butter cookies for trip snacks, not to mention some soy & wasabi almonds, which are tasty but salty and fatty. I've been having yogurt or Naked Juice smoothies for breakfast, and a slice of bread with cheese, a pile of lettuce, and half a serving of almonds for lunch. For dinner I had veggie-heavy meals the first two nights, but I caved and ordered baked ravioli at Adrianos... though we'd done enough hiking to counteract it, I think! Plus, I snuck one of my raviolis over onto Boyfriend's plate.
Anyway, I'll let you know how the food goes as the trip progresses... I've got to keep myself accountable somehow! ...and maybe I'll even be able to paint my nails in the morning.

Week 2.1: On the Road!

2012-05-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I made it through one week of the challenge... on to week two! We're on our way across the country, although it took some finagleing to get everything in the car! Here's me in my travel dress for day one doing my very best Vana White.

Our first rest stop was Donner Pass, where we got out and marveled at the remaining snow...

...and climbed over rocks in impractical shoes for a quick leg stretcher.

Then it was back into the car for the rest of the day to drive across the Nevada dessert, where white snow was replaced by white salt flats. Still very pretty to look at! In some places, the mirages made it look like the mountains were floating.

We also stopped in Lovelock, Nevada for another quick break. Lovelock has adopted what they claim is a Chinese tradition of locking metal locks on chains and fences as a symbol of enduring love. Needless to say, Boyfriend and I did not purchase or leave a padlock, although I took a few pictures... there were so many kinds of locks!

Today, we'll drive to Yellowstone!
Today's outfit...

Dress: Made by ME, details to come later...

Jacket: Forever21

Belt: H&M

Bangles: Various

Shoes: Reflection

Hair flower: Icing

NOTD: In anticipation of fishing

2012-05-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning! If all goes well, we should be en route already... and, of course, to commemorate our annual trip to Wisconsin, I busted out the fish skeleton stamp again, just like last year.

Amazingly, the pattern turned out better on my right hand than it did on my left. I only did accent fish this year instead of piles of fishy skeletons, but I think it looks pretty spiffy anyway. Hopefully my fishing luck is better this year than it was last year! Especially since I'm taking Boyfriend fishing for the First Time Ever.

I started off with Sinful Colors Basecoat followed by two medium coats of Pure Ice Touch Me Here (seriously, who names these things?). Once that was dry, I stamped on the fishnet design from BM209 with Sinful Colors Black on Black. On top, I added a few of the fish skeletons from BM04 with Essence Stampy White. I was really happy with how Stampy White turned out, the black fishnet pattern didn't show through at all! When everything was dry, I topped it off with NYC Grand Central Station and attempted to do a little cleanup... It didn't work very well, since I didn't take my bottle of acetone along (it leaks) and instead finally caved and bought a big flipper bottle of Remove+ from Zoya at the local grocery store (it does not leak). Although Remove+ works really well for straight polish removal, it isn't as good for cleanup.

Hope you're having a good weekend! Are any of you going on vacations this summer?

Week 1.3 - Workout clothes & cleaning day

2012-05-18T16:13:00.002-07:00

Happy Friday, everyone! Thank goodness this week is over.

Today, lest you think that it is all ruffles and swirly skirts and sparkly polish here Chez Polka, a bit of realism: This is my standard workout ensemble, plus scrubby brush... Boyfriend and I were cleaning my parents' car today in preparation for a road trip to visit my grandparents.

As you can see, I am extremely enthusiastic about cleaning.

I'll be doing my best to get blog posts up on the road... There will be a nail post tomorrow (I've scheduled it!) and hopefully I can find WiFi along the way. Unfortunately, I may not be able to weigh in until I get home!! We'll see what happens on that front... I'll keep you updated on my food and exercise, though.

Exercise Bra & Yoga Pants: Target

Tank: Aeropostale

Shoes: New Balance 310

Week 1.2: Wednesday weigh-in and a bracelet of mysterious origin

2012-05-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Whew, the hard part of the week is over! And of course it is Wednesday, so let's get the weigh-in out of the way (weigh?) first:

Current Weight: 140.6 lbs

At Last Weigh-in: 144 lbs

Starting Weight: 144 lbs

Weight Loss to Date: 3.4 lbs

Well, that's a little deceiving! I'm not sure that I've really lost so much in a week, since my weight fluctuates so much, but it feels good to post it anyway.

Also, to address concerns: According to the BMI calculators, I can go all the way down to 115 lbs for my height (5' 6") and still be within the "healthy" range, so I think 120 is a perfectly realistic and healthy goal for me. I am also extremely pear-shaped: almost all my fat is below my waist and above my knees. Swirly full skirts are liars!

Anyway, yesterday Boyfriend had to sing his last voice jury (sort of like a mini-audition for the faculty) to be allowed to sing his Senior Recital in the fall. Since I'm singing a duet with him, I figured I should look at least moderately presentable too. I got him to take a few pictures of my outfit (and my less-than-entirely-successful curls) outside while we were waiting. My skirt isn't really that poofy... I only liked the pictures where I was spinning. Something about circle skirts makes me want to twirl.

I'm hoping someone who knows something about vintage jewelry can help me figure out what my bracelet is— it doesn't have any markings on it. I asked my mom about its origins yesterday, and she remembers that it used to have round, flat, mint-green stones set into the top of each flower. I'm sure they were all gone by the time I first saw the bracelet, as I have no memory of them.

I also just got new glasses (yay!) as my old ones had finally begun to fall apart after four years. I like the blue frame contrast and the little cutout hearts on the side... and of course vision is also a lovely thing.

Shirt/ belt: Ross

Skirt: Basic circle skirt, made by me

Petticoat: Evangeline's

Shoes: Reflection

Bracelet: Originally my mother's

Earrings: from my Busia (grandmother) I think

NOTD: Watery Blue Gradient

2012-05-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Today's manicure did not want to be photographed. I've fiddled with the colors in Photoshop a bit, but the contrast between the two shades of blue is still much more obvious in real life. The robin's-egg teal/medium blue gradient really reminds me of the ocean somewhere tropical... much more pleasant, I'm sure, than the smoggy summer I'm currently being subjected to!

I finally bought a package of cosmetic sponges, and I did this manicure with one of those. They make a much smoother finish thank kitchen sponges! Perhaps I'll have to do a comparison post soon...

I started with a base coat of Sinful Colors Basecoat (whoda thunk?) and added one coat of China Glaze For Audrey as underwear before I started sponging with For Audrey and ULTA Blue Streak. I went over each nail at least twice with the sponge, and on a few I took some extra dabs at sheer spots. Everything was topped off with NYC Grand Central Station topcoat.

And now I must be off to brush out my curls and attempt to look fabulous before I go to my 8 am (yuck!) music history final so that I will be ready to sing at Boyfriend's voice jury at 11. Whee...

NOTD: A Gradient of a Different Color

2012-05-14T08:09:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Today I have another gradient manicure for you.... I seem to have caught that gradient bug that's been going around. I was wearing Butter London Lady Muck for a few days on its own, and once it started chipping, I added a gradient with ORLY (yarly) Galaxy Girl. I wasn't really able to capture the pink flash of Galaxy Girl in my lightbox, but it was there in person!

Unfortunately, I managed to smudge the polish on my middle finger, and my thumb and index fingers are chipping because I've been sewing a lot lately. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to replace them with a different gradient...

Here's the requisite bottle picture. I think this is the most color accurate... my lightbox was not happy with the blue background, I guess. I did this gradient with both gradient-ing techniques... I used a kitchen sponge and did one layer where I combined both colors on the sponge to make the gradient, and I did a second layer only sponging Galaxy Girl over the tips.

Changes around the blog & a personal challenge

2012-05-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely readers! The semester is nearly over, so it's time to pick up some new projects. I won't be in school next year, although hopefully I will be employed, so I will be trying to bump up the blogging... maybe to nearly every day! We shall see.

I've been trying to lose a few pounds for the past year or so... unfortunately, my love of tasty things tends to get the better of my attempts at self control. Some of the nail polish community tried to get together for a weight loss group, but after the initial month or so, a lot of interest dropped off. BUT! Julie of FabGabs is doing a weight loss challenge, which involves posting weekly weigh-ins and at least three outfits a week, and I'm going to get on board with that. Telling the blog what I'm doing with weight loss and exercise will definitely give me some accountability! So... I think my goal will be to post three outfits and three nail designs a week, with a day off... unless I have something else to post. Since Julie does her weigh-ins on Wednesday, I won't be doing a "Works for Me Wednesday" post every week, but I hope to keep that feature around.

So... intro weight loss post!
I'm starting at 144 pounds and a 27" waist. My goal is 120 pounds... and we'll see what my waist size ends up being!
(I've been calorie counting with MyFitnessPal for a while, so I'm using last Wednesday's weight as my starting weight, to be fair, since weigh-ins are on Wednesday.)

(please forgive the blurriness)

Dress: McCalls 8457, made by me

Bangles: Various

Belt: H&M

Shoes: Reflection

The starting outfit! I admit, this photo is from last week, but I was wearing exactly the same thing today. I'm going to make an effort not to repeat entire ensembles too much, but it may be difficult. Ready, set, go!

NOTD: Gradient Green

2012-05-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

Good morning! This gradient trend has been going around everywhere, so I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, since I only have kitchen sponges to gradient with, my end result was a little less seamless and a little more like a lime rind... I still like it!

I also sponged on some glitter near the cuticles... unfortunately, that made a bit of a mess. I like the little magical twinkle it adds, though!

I used a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lickety-Split Lime as "underwear" and sponged a gradient with China Glaze Holly-Day (I'm getting a lot of use out of that one right now!) and OPI Who the Shrek are You? using a corner of kitchen sponge. I did two coats of sponging on each nail. I also added a little sparkle at the cuticle with Nicole by OPI Brilliant Idea before I added my NYC fast-drying topcoat.

I want to get a pack of cosmetic sponges to try to do some smoother gradients. What do you think?

Works For Me Wednesday: Vintage Sewing Patterns

2012-05-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

It's still Wednesday! I can still sneak in a post! Finals are next week (finally) and I'm really running out of energy for the school year. Just a little longer...

Today's post is completely non-nail related. Sorry! Come back tomorrow for a gradient manicure.

Okay, who's still here? You? Wonderful. Since I got a sewing machine for Christmas, I've been looking for things to make like crazy. I've made several circle skirts already, but I wanted some bigger garments to make. Enter the vintage pattern. An antiques store near my apartment has a big bin of vintage patterns, so every time I go in I try to find a few patterns close to my size.

So far, this adorable puff-sleeved dress is the closest pattern I've found. The pattern is McCalls 8457 in a 32" bust, but there's plenty of pattern ease in the bust for me... it's nowhere near as close-fitting as the illustrations would have you believe.

One of my favorite things about vintage patterns is how efficiently the pattern pieces are laid out for cutting. With modern patterns, I often find I have a half a yard of fabric left once I've squeezed the pieces on in the most efficient ways. Another nice thing is that since the patterns are pre-used, they all come pre-cut! Cutting out the pattern pieces is my least favorite part of sewing.

I made up the dress in a red and white floral fabric I got at Goodwill for about $2.00 ... I think the previous owner had tacked it up as curtains over a window, as there were several faded patches. I just cut around them, and used the fabric that was left after to create the skirt. The collar and sleeve edgings are made from a remnant I picked up at Joann's.

As you can see, there is plenty of room in the bodice, even though I'm wearing a padded bra that makes my bust measurement more like 34". I also made the skirt a good bit shorter than the pattern called for. Partially personal preference, and partially because of the aforementioned fading.

Dress: McCalls 8457, made by me!

Belt: from an H&M blazer

Lucite/plastic bangles: Antiques stores, assorted Goodwills

Shoes: Black velvet wedges from Reflection

Hair floof: Icing

I'm unsure about the poofyness of the sleeves... I love them in photos, but in person they feel like a bit much!

I'm on to a new project now. I want to find a light cotton to make an adorable a-line buttoned swing dress. The pattern photos make it look like it's intended as a housedress or pajamas, and I think it would make lovely lazy clothes. It would also be great as pajamas when I'm visiting family and need to look presentable first thing in the morning. And I just love the description on the pattern envelope:

What are your thoughts, readers? Do any of you sew, or wear vintage styles? I'd love to hear what works for you!

NOTD: Copycat Tiger Stripes

2012-05-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

IT'S THE CLAW!

Ahem.

Good morning, lovely readers... I don't know where the weekend went! The end of the semester is really approaching at top speed (yikes!).

Today's nails are inspired by/blatantly copied from Ivana Thinks Pink. She did a post a while ago with black zebra print stamped over Essence Make it Golden, so when I found a bottle of the same polish in ULTA a few days ago, I knew exactly what nail art to do. Ivana's original post is HERE, and she even has step-by-step instructions!

Oh right, I have two hands. I used a different base color (I've never seen Essence Irreplaceable in the wild where I live) but the general effect turned out more or less the same. It's funny--I really liked wearing this design! I usually avoid animal print at all costs, but I'm rather fond of how this one turned out.

I started with my Sinful Colors Basecoat and added two coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Gilty Pleasure. I hadn't tried this polish before (I bought it for stamping, but it really isn't opaque enough) and it's remarkably wearable and decently opaque. I added one coat of Essence Make it Golden over the top and waited for the whole thing to dry before stamping with the zebra print from Bundle Monster image plate BM223 and Sinful Colors Black On Black. I used NYC Grand Central Station as my topcoat.

I think I'll have to try this stamping-over-glitter thing again, it looks quite nifty.

NOTD: Rainbow snakeskin

2012-05-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

Hello again! My research paper has been turned in (woohoo!) and I feel much more like a real human being again.

Sunlight!

To celebrate, here is the cheerful holo-y manicure I was sporting for the last few days. Of course, today is cloudy and showery again, but that's how spring goes.

Open shade

I ordered a green petticoat a few weeks ago, and I could not resist ordering a bottle of Nubar Reclaim at the same time... I'm glad I went with that impulse, because Reclaim is an amazing color. A bit leprechaun-esque, to be sure, but so cheerful!

I decided to reprise my subtle green stamping with China Glaze Holly-Day over Reclaim, and it worked pretty darn well! I know that most bloggers avoid using topcoat over holographic polishes because it can dull the effect, and I wore Reclaim without topcoat for a day or two, but it was looking very worn around the edges, so I added another coat, stamped, and threw on some topcoat. The holo effect might be a little duller, but the polish survived much better with topcoat, and my nails still looked like little rainbows, so I was happy.

I used my Sinful Colors Basecoat followed by three coats of Nubar Reclaim. Only two coats are needed for full coverage... the third was to cover chips and wear. Reclaim applied like a dream, I didn't have any problems with bald spots or the polish pulling. I stamped with China Glaze Holly-Day and Bundle Monster Image Plate BM215, the lovely little snakeskin pattern. I also added a topcoat of NYC Grand Central Station.

Do you wear your holos with topcoat?

Works for Me Wednesday: Not Procrastinating

2012-05-02T15:16:00.001-07:00

Happy Wednesday, lovely readers!
Today, I do not have much of a blog post for you, as I am finishing writing a paper on Strauss and Wagner for the last music history course of my undergraduate career.

The paper is due tomorrow by 7pm, and I am nearly done... I just have to finish up my footnotes.
I think this I'm doing quite well!

And, because this is a blog, and blogs have pictures, I will leave you with a photograph of my breakfast... french toast made from homemade cinnamon swirl bread! Deee-lish.

I'll be back with your regularly scheduled programming tomorrow!

NOTD: Rainy silver stamping

2012-04-30T10:56:00.001-07:00

Good morning (if it is still morning where you are) lovely readers. I'm struggling with things like post titles today. Oh well. I'm also struggling with the dry dry California weather and the dry dry dry ex-fruit packing shed we were doing the opera in... so my cuticles have been getting terribly dry, and since I've been just a smidge nervous lately, it's been hard not to pick at them. I doused them with Burt's Bees lemon cuticle butter last night and again this morning, and they're still looking dry. Argh!

Anyway, ignore the questionable cuticles.

We had a couple of surprise rainy April days last week, so I painted my nails with some rain-appropriate colors. Of course, it's already sunny again (expect holos soon!), but I had to take advantage of it while it lasted... This manicure wore surprisingly well (for me!) and I think these pictures are from day 3 or 4. I can tell where I missed topcoat around the edges of my nails, because that's where the polish chipped off.

I started with three (I think?) coats of Butter London Lady Muck over my usual Sinful Colors Basecoat (not pictured). I stamped with Bundle Monster Image Plate BM212 and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep with the little peacock-eye-esque pattern. For accent nails, I blobbed out a bit of Nicole by OPI Make U Smile (sigh, I know, Justin Bieber nail polish... I am ashamed...) and fished out individual silver sequins with a toothpick and put them in the middle of each "eye" from the stamped pattern. I topped everything off with NYC Grand Central Station for topcoat.

I really love how this turned out. I suppose it would be easier if I bought a little dish of loose glitter to use for applications like this rather than fishing them out of this nail polish. Do any of you use loose glitter for your nail art?

NOTD: Something Orange

2012-04-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

Hello, lovely readers! A quick post before I run off to yet another opera performance... I'm not in this one, just running the supertitles. I kind of wish I was performing, the costumes are brilliant.

Case in point.

Anyway, last weekend the boyfriend and I went to a big farmer's market and swap meet with a mutual friend. We picked up lots of fresh veggies and made a lovely dinner... but while I was there, I noticed a huge number of vendors selling Kleancolor polish for a dollar. I was looking for Chunky Holo Black, but I didn't find it...

Instead I picked up Chunky Holo Bluebell. I decided to layer it over an orange polish (it matched my outfit), but sadly the duochrome glitters didn't show up so well. I might have to try layering it over a darker color next time.

For this manicure, I used 3 coats of Zoya Gwin followed by one coat of Kleancolor Chunky Holo Bluebell... one environmentally responsible polish and one horrible one. I used a quick-dry topcoat, but the Kleancolor polish didn't want to dry once that was on. I think I should wait before applying topcoat next time.

OK, I'm off to opera land. Hope your weekend is fabulous!

Works for Me Wednesday: Nail polish swatches

2012-04-25T21:11:00.003-07:00

Hello, lovely readers! Technically it is still Wednesday where I live, and since I've gotten very little else done today (Getting home from a dress rehearsal at 1 AM will do that for you!) I figured I should at least upload a new blog post.

Today, I'm sharing my strategy for keeping track of my nail polish collection.

For my swatches, I use these nail art wheels from Sally Beauty. There might be a better option, but these are easy to find, and they stack pretty compactly. I organize my polishes by color. I have wheels for red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black/white/grey, and silver. Duochromes live wherever they seem to fit best.
The initial swatching took a while (although when I purchased these wheels, my collection wasn't too big), and now I just add new colors as I buy them. I like to swatch each polish to full opacity, although that's not really possible with some glitter polishes and special effects topcoats. For colors that I know won't reach full opacity without a minor miracle, I like to leave the swatch at 1 coat, so that I know what the payoff will be.
I like my little swatch wheels because they enable me to look through my colors quickly and accurately. I can also "try on" colors when I'm being indecisive by holding the fake nail over my nail bed. This is particularly useful when a friend comes over and wants to paint her nails with one of the colors from my collection... not an uncommon occurance!

Here's one of my less populated plates laid out with its corresponding polishes. I numbered the individual colors with a fine point Sharpie, but my organizational strategy ended there. If I was more organized, my bottles might have corresponding numbers, or I might have my polish archived in a spreadsheet. Instead, I use the numbers to choose colors when I'm being indecisive-- This method involves me calling to Boyfriend, "Pick a number between 1 and 13!" or something similar and then using whichever polish is assigned to that number.

And there you have it, that's my ever-so unscientific method of keeping track of my nail polish. Do you have a polish organization and swatching strategy?

NOTD: Freehand daisies

2012-04-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning, and happy Saturday! We've made it to the weekend... hooray. Now I have to try to make it through to next weekend... oh boy. I'll do my best to make it through.
Today's nails are inspired by Simply Rins' Daisy nail art tutorial. I used nail polish instead of acrylic paints, mostly because I don't have any acrylic paints. My daisies are a bit more.... um... it's a creative interpretation of the "daisy" concept.

I think they looked OK in person, and I got quite a few compliments. Up close, they're a bit on the spiky side, but from a distance I guess they looked a little more like flowers.

Here's another photo, a bit more zoomed out. They still look kind of funky, huh? Well, you'll just have to take my word for it: even if your daisies look like the got run over by a herd of cows, people will still compliment you on how amazing they look, so really, you should give it a try.
(Fun costume ring was an $8 buy at the local antiques mall. It doesn't match at ALL, but it's what I was wearing...)

I started with my Sinful Colors Basecoat, followed by two coats of Essie Coat Azure, a beautiful medium blue with a touch of shimmer. I drew the flower petals with a thin brush and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On, and I created the centers with a combination of Zoya Pippa and Sinful Colors Pull Over. I topped it all off with NYC Grand Central Station.

If you want to try this design out yourself, I highly recommend you go look at the amazingly talented Rina's tutorial HERE.

NOTD: Leafy Green Stamping

2012-04-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hello there, readers! The other day I realized that I haven't done any stamping in a while (too stressed, too busy) and I decided that it was time to fix that! The warm and sunny spring weather has finally returned here in California, so I decided to pick some bright springy colors to match.

I had a heck of a time getting the color balance right... these photos were NOT cooperating! I think it might be the spot I chose to shoot in. I've used this backdrop before in the earlier days of the blog (here for example) quite successfully, but I think it may just bounce the light too oddly for sunny days. Oh well... that's what I get for being to lazy to traipse outdoors to my usual picture spot.

I used my Sinful Colors Basecoat, followed by two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lickety-Split Lime. I stamped using that odd leaf pattern on BM205 and China Glaze Holly-Day. Holly-Day actually works pretty darn well for stamping over lighter colors. I used NYC Grand Central Station as my topcoat. I still need to do a topcoat review, don't I? Hmm...

Works for Me Wednesday: Nail polish cleanup

2012-04-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

Why hello there, readers! I know what you're thinking, two posts in two days, it's a sign of the apocalypse. I would like to assure you that it isn't (I think. I haven't seen any horsemen go by...) and introduce a new weekly (I hope!) feature to my blog. Starting now, I will post a "Works for Me Wednesday" post every Wednesday (whaddaya know?)... an idea borrowed from Bake at 350 and I'm sure many other blogs which may have originated at We are That Family... anyway, it's alliterative and clever sounding and should be fun. Some of these will be nail polish tips, some will be beauty or baking or random things... but it's a way for me to make sure I blog a little more often and share some different things with you.

I hope you like it!

Today I'd like to share with you my nail polish cleanup method. There are dozens of tutorials out there (Lacquerized has a fabulous one HERE, Polish or Perish has one HERE) but I thought I'd add my own, because... well, I have a nail polish blog!

If you have struggled with neatening up your manicure using Q-tips or other blunt objects, this may be just the trick for you.

You will need:

Nail Polish Remover (I like the plain ol acetone sort)
a small glass dish (Mine was $1.99 at Sally's, in the acrylic nail section. A small glass candleholder from goodwill would work well, too. You could just dip your brush in the bottle of remover, but mine eventually wants to go swimming, so I don't do that any more.)
a small brush with moderately stiff bristles (I think mine came in a makeup brush kit, and since I never used it, it became my nail polish brush)

The brush is probably the most important bit of this. Mine has stiff bristles a little less than a centimeter long. You don't want a brush that fans out too much, or else it will smudge into your nail polish.

Nail art inspired by Simply Rins... It will get a post of its own.

I like to do my cleanup after I have all my coats of polish on, including topcoat, and once my nails are nearly dry. To remove excess polish, simply dip your brush in the remover, then "paint" along the cuticle where you want your polish removed.

It helps to contort your hands into odd positions. It also helps if your hair gets in your face while you are concentrating.

For highly pigmented colors, you may want to wipe your brush off on scrap paper or a napkin every few strokes to avoid staining.

And that's it! At first, it's easy to take off more polish than you mean to, but with practice it gets easier. You'll probably want to moisturize as soon as you finish, since the acetone can be very drying on your cuticles.

What works for you? How do you clean up your manicures?

China Glaze Ray-Diant

2012-04-17T07:41:00.001-07:00

Open shade

Good morning, lovely readers. It's been almost a week since I posted something! Yikes! And this is actually the polish I had on before Easter, so it's been a while since I managed to take pictures of my nails. I've tried to paint them once or twice in the past week, but I've lost my favorite clean-up brush, and I keep running out of time to do everything I want to.

Anyway. Today's polish is China Glaze Ray-Diant from the newish Prismatic Chroma Glitters. Honestly, I wasn't very taken with the collection, and probably wouldn't have bought this polish. But since I got it as a bonus sorry-your-order-took-so-long polish, I figured I might as well try wearing it.
I don't remember if I used two or three coats for the pictures, but this is a pretty opaque polish. It's also really sandpapery on its own and needs some extra topcoat... I think I used two coats of NYC instead of one.

I like Ray-Diant better in person than I do in swatches because it looks a little greener and a little less multicolored. I couldn't pick up any of the duochrome, though, as much as I tried.

Sun

Here it is in sunlight. Bleh.... I'm just not really taken with it. It's fine in person, really, but I'm not really fond of it in closeup form.

And just for funsies, this is what I was wearing with it. Obviously you've seen the skirt on here before, but I figured I'd share another picture of me looking like a total dork with my second-day curls and scuffed shoes.

I'll be back with more posts soon, really!