"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Recreation

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday! And your Halloween holiday if you celebrate. I have the last of my posts for the This Is Halloween Nail Art Challenge and what will most likely be my last Halloween design of the year. Today is recreation.

Thick oozing blood. Not exactly as I imagined, but I still like it. Looking at them in person, they look like I've been scratching at something containing blood. Blood drips are all over the internet, so I do not have one particular person to credit. For my dripping blood, I used Essie Blood Curdling, a little Blood Curdling plus black mixed together, and black. 

"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Trick or Treat

I hope you are enjoying your Tuesday! One day closer to Halloween! I have another post for the This Is Halloween Nail Art Challenge. Today is treat or treat.

When I think of trick or treating, candy comes to mind first. And the first Halloween candy I think of is always candy corn. So I decided on a candy corn gradient. Fun, easy, and just screams candy corn.

I started with a coat of Pure Ice Super Star! as my white base. Then I painted wide stripes of Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, NYC Times Square Tangerine, and Super Star! onto a makeup sponge. Gradients are one of the easiest nail art techniques. The only hard part is the cleanup if you end up with too much polish on your skin.

I looked yesterday at some of my nail art and realized that an Asian site had stolen one of my images. They very badly tried to erase my watermark and then added their own. I've been considering adding a watermark  closer to the nail, something that cannot be cropped out and is hard to photoshop out. Let me know what you think of the new watermark.

"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Graveyard

I hope you are enjoying your Monday! Halloween is almost here! The next three days including today, I will have themed nail art to share.

What says graveyard more than headstones? I started off with one coat of Julep Dendrie, a light gray creme. I only own one gray, so I did a little mixing. I mixed up two shades of gray using black and white. One slightly darker than Dendrie and the other almost black. I sponged on the lighter shade to give my nails a stone look. The darker shade became my background/shadow. The grass is Pure Ice Wild Thing and Ulta The Jungle Look. Finally, I wrote RIP with black and a small dotting tool.

Ghoulie Girl

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday! I have some lovely news for anyone who likes OPI. Ulta has some polishes from the Muppets Collection along with a few others. Twelve in total priced at 2 for $12.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in Ghoulie Girl are an adorable ghost design. Orange and white ghosts against a black background. I've worn this brand of strips before and I always love them. Easy to apply and they wear like real polish. They claim to last up to ten days. I have never worn them that long. Simply because I cannot go ten days without changing my polish. The longest I've worn them is four days. No tip wear, no chipping. I like to add top coat (and did here), but you can wear them without top coat. I have before.

Cat's Eyes

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!

Cat's Eyes designs are everywhere! And I love it! For mine, I followed a tutorial by Kayla Shevonne. I used Beauty UK Black, Pure Ice Wild Thing, Wet n Wild The Gold and the Beautiful, and white acrylic paint. It is a very easy look to achieve, especially following Kayla's tutorial.

"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Witches

I hope you are enjoying your Friday! Its a little late in the day, but I finally have my post for the This Is Halloween Challenge. Today is witches.

As soon as it all came together, I realized the black and purple look random. But I still like it. For half of my fingers, I used two coats of Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, otherwise known as Scandalous. Facets of Fuchsia was released in a limited edition collection. When they decided to make it a core color, they changed the name. So if you decide to purchase it now, look for Scandalous.

The rest of my finger got one coat of Zoya Skylar. Then I sponged on Wet n Wild Saved by the Blue to give my sky some dimension and depth. On my index finger, I drew grass with Pure Ice Wild Thing and Ulta The Jungle Look. On my ring finger, I drew a glowing moon with Sinful Colors Unicorn. Finally I stamped on a cat and witch with Sinful Colors Black on Black and plate BM13.

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday! Today, I have some cute/creepy spiders to show you.

Wacky Laki did the cutest spiders and I knew I needed to have them on my fingers. I started with two coats of Julep Dendrie, a light gray creme. With a nail art brush and black, I drew on half moons then legs. Finally, red eyes and black pupils with Sinful Colors Sugar Sugar.

A Spider and His Web

I hope you are enjoying your Tuesday! I was not ready to take off my Halloween gradient just yet, but wanted to add something extra. So I spruced it up with a little Halloween nail art.

I saw an adorable design on Pinterest by Manicure Mania that I wanted to recreate over my gradient. So I got out a nail art brush, black acrylic paint, and a couple of rhinestones. It was fairly easy to recreate, though my lines are not nearly as crisp as hers. I still like it though.

Halloween Stamping

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday! Today I have a fun Halloween design to show you.

Each nail is different and the only theme is Halloween. I spent time cleaning up, but the camera picked up green I did not see. I used Nfu-Oh NFU JS18 and Wet n Wild Night Prowl. My stamping polishes were Sinful Colors Black on Black, Pure Ice Super Star!, Wet n Wild Times Square Tangerine, Ulta The Jungle Look, and Julep Demi. I used several different stamping plates. N.Nail m80 (crow), N.Nail m39 (blood drips), BM-301 (bat in blood drip), and BM-305 (house).

Sally Hansen Spun for You with Spiders

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday! If you follow my Facebook page then you know I'm currently in Baton Rouge to see friends. Among the normal things we're doing, we are also going to Gate, a huge Halloween haunted house. So I wanted a themed manicure.

I spiced up Sally Hansen Polish Strips in Spun on You with a little stamping. Using Sinful Colors Black on Black and plate BM13, I stamped spiders on my ring finger and thumb. The strips are easy to apply. This set is left over from last year. So as long as they stay sealed in original packing, they will last. Very good to know because I have another set from last year as well.

"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Zombies

I hope you are enjoying your Monday! I have another post for the This Is Halloween Nail Art Challenge. Today is zombies. I'm not a big fan of zombies, but deciding on a design was fun.

This design was inspired by The Daily Nail. Her skin seems to be sliding off and bunching up. Mine is melting off in blobs. I started with one coat of Julep Molly. When it was completely dry, I added two coats of Julep Alyson. I wish I had a nude closer to my own skin color. I think it would have made it creepier looking. When it was beginning to dry but still tacky, I used my finger to gently push the nude polish toward the tip of my nail. For the oozing globby blood, I used Julep Demi and Essie Blood Curdling. To give the blood a nice shine but keep the glob look, I dabbed on Gelous with a nail art brush. Finally for depth, I smudged on Barielle Back to Nature to give the flesh some dimension. I cleaned up a little, but I think leaving it unperfect made it more fitting for zombie nails.

"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Jack-O-Laterns

I hope you are enjoying your Friday! I have another post for the This Is Halloween Nail Art Challenge. Today is jack-o-laterns.

For my pumpkin orange, I used Essence No Better Way to Sky. The light burnt orange creme is a perfect pumpkin color. Next I drew on faces with a tiny nail art brush and black acrylic paint. I think they're kind of cute. But the next time, I'd like to try something a bit more intricate. Possibly realistic.

"This Is Halloween" Challenge: Ghosts

I hope you are enjoying your Monday! Sorry for the late post. Today I have another bit of nail art for the This Is Halloween Nail Art Challenge.

Ghosts! They honestly did not turn out how I wanted, but maybe I'm just being my own worst critic. I got compliments on them from co-workers and customers. One customer asked me if they were stick on. The design is very easy. I did two coats of Pure Ice Super Star! as my white base. Then with acrylic paint and a dotting tool, I made the eyes and mouths. I saw a design like this somewhere that inspired me, but I honestly cannot remember where.

One, Two, Freddy's Coming For You

I hope you are enjoying your Monday! It is the first day of October (YAY) and the first day of the challenge I am participating in. The This Is Halloween Nail Art Challenge started by Bec at Lacquer Dreams. The challenge runs the length of October, just not everyday. Today is horror movies. I LOVE horror movies! I based my design on my favorite man in the horror genre.

If the title didn't give it away already, this manicure is all about Nightmare on Elm Street. I absolutely love Freddy Krueger! I did green and red stripes for his dirty sweater, slashes for his razor fingers, blood splatter, and brown for his hat. I'm hoping the sweater and slashes are enough to scream Freddy.

For his sweater, I used Essie Blood Curdling and Color Club Artsy Crafty. I sponged on a sheer layer of Color Club Rebel Spirit to give it an even dirtier look. For the slashes, I painted on two coats of Orly Decades of Dysfunction. When it was mostly dry but still a bit tacky, I ran lines of Blood Curdling over it with a nail art brush. The blood splatter starts off with two coats of Decades of Dysfunction. Then I used a straw and blew polish to create the splatter. Finally the brown for his hat. I used Rebel Spirit and sponged on light patches of Julep Olivia to give a bit of dimension.

So, what's your favorite scary movie?

 Check out the other amazing designs done for this challenge!

Halloween in July

Its Stamping Sunday! This week's theme is "Something I Love." I debated for a little while over what to do. If I had a penguin plate, you would be seeing penguins this week. And my owl plates are in the mail. I looked through my plates and the moment I saw the Halloween themed one, I knew I wanted to do that. It is one of my favorite holidays.

I started with two coats of Love My Nails Raspberry Sorbet, a maroon creme. I created a Halloween accent on each of my ring fingers. A spiderweb with Color Club Worth the Risque and plate BM13; then a spider with Sinful Colors Black on Black and plate BM13. Using a holo for the web causes it to catch the light in a way similar to actual spiderweb.

I love this design and will absolutely be recreating this in October when Halloween is closer to occurring.

Worth the Risque is from the Color Club Femme Fatale Collection. It retails for $4-8. I purchased mine on ebay from this seller. I've also heard of it being seen at Bed Bath & Beyond. Love My Nails retail for $1 at Bari Cosmetics. BM stamping plates are part of a 21 piece set that retails for $18 on Bundle Monster or their Amazon store. Sinful Colors retail for $2 at Walgreens (online/in store) and Target (in store). They're also available for $2.50 at Cherry Culture. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!! Today is one of my favorite holidays, right behind Christmas which holds the slot as my top favorite. I wish I had more time to do an awesome gory mani design for the day, but I still did something cute. And lazy. :P A while back, I bought a set of Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips in Spun for You. Its a cute spider web design. I never got a chance to wear them and I certainly couldn't let them go to waste, so I wore them for Halloween.

This was my first experience using any nail strips at all. They were super easy to use and I loved having zero drying time. I did put a top coat on, but it dried in less than a minute, almost instantly. I was able to cut the strips in half and only use one of the two packs inside the box. Now I have some for next year. :)   

I would definitely recommend these strips if anyone is thinking about trying them out. I took my time and was super careful, yet it still only took me twenty minutes. And that time includes filing my nails and prep. Plus they are so pretty! Its especially worth it if you can cut them in half. I paid $8.50 for this set at Walmart. So its like getting a gorgeous mani (that will last several days) for $4.25.

On to other things, I know I haven't been keeping up with my blog so well lately, but that is about to change. I'm joining a few other bloggers and diving into the challenge pool. Taylor from Nailed to the T came up with 30 Days of Untrieds. So starting tomorrow (Nov 1), I will doing that. I hope everyone will be happy to see some of my untouched polishes. I'm hoping to post everyday, but I know I will miss one here and there. So I figured when I miss a day, I could make it up with using two untrieds on one mani. I'll also have a post with all my new polishes. I cannot stop buying!

Do not forget to enter my 50 Follower Giveaway. It ends Friday, November 4th. You will have the chance to win six polishes, polish remover pads, and a piece of jewelry handmade by me.

Mummy Nails

This design is a bit of nail fail but its still worth sharing, I think. Maybe someone will be inspired to do it better. I followed this tutorial online. Hers are cute!

As I'm sure everyone has figured out by now, I'm a big fan of accent nails. You can see it smudged a little. I apparently didn't wait long enough for the eyes to dry before adding my top coat. For this I used Maybelline Show Me the Honey, Sinful Colors Snow Me White and Black on Black. I love Show Me the Honey. Its a pretty muted gold. I'm not sure you can find it in stores, but I've seen bottles floating around Ebay. Mine is several years old. I had to use some thinner on it before even painting my nails.

I wish this would have turned out cuter for Halloween nails, but at least I rediscovered how much I love this gold polish.

Frankenstein Nails

This is my second Halloween themed manicure of October! :) The color combination instantly made me think of Frankenstein, though it may just be me.

First I used three coats of Sinful Colors Irish Green. As you can see, even after three coats, it is still very sheer. If I was wearing it alone, I would use a base coat of white first.

I layered on a thick coat of Fabulous Nails Midnight Black Crackle. I painted it on quickly since it dries and cracks fast. But the coat doesn't have to be perfect. The crackle effect allows flaws to blend in.

I love this look so much! I will definitely be pairing my crackle with other polishes for more Halloween manis. :)

Candy Corn Nails, Polish Haul, & Nail Mail

Today is the first day of October. Which means the beginning of Halloween nails! Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Its so much fun! For my first nail design of the holiday month, I did candy corn. Well, a candy corn accent nail and sparkling orange on the rest.

Not the best little candy corn ever, but its the first one I've ever painted on my nails. On my ring finger I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Black on Black, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, and Wet n Wild Creepy Pumpkin. On the rest I layered Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Dahlia Orange, and Wet n Wild Creepy Pumpkin. Both oranges are sheer, so the white base meant less layers. I love all of these colors and polishes. They all apply beautifully.

I think candy corn is a great way to start off October and Halloween! :)

As the post title implies, I also bought some new polishes and got some nail mail. Sorry in advance for the picture overload.

From left to right: ICING Stormy/Serene, ICING Glitterati, Zoya Meadow, Essie Red Nouveau, and Orly Sec N Dry along with some Kiss nail glue. 

I got Stormy/Serene from ICING as part of a BOGO 50% off sale. It changes color depending on your mood. Though I've heard its dependent on temperature, like mood rings are.

An up close shot of Glitterati. Its so pretty in the bottle. Large hexagon magenta glitter with small round holo glitter.

Both the Zoya and Essie polishes are from a sale on Pretty & Polished. She has some gorgeous China Glaze holo polishes up for sale now, one of which I just ordered. These are my first of both brands. I'm very excited to try them out.

I also got a set of Sally Hansen Salon Effects Nail Polish Strips Spun for You. The box is MIA so I dug up a stock photo in case you have not seen this particular design.

I have heard great things about these nail strips. I'm very excited about the Halloween ones. If these work well for me, I might go back and get Ghoulie Girl or Numbskull.