Today's mani: cappuccino watercolor gradient

Happy Monday! Today I decided to try out a new-to-me nail art technique. I was inspired by the Nailasaurus mani that I featured in my Museum-Worthy manis post for September. She did a beautiful gradient using a nail art brush instead of a sponge, which makes it look more rustic and artsy than a traditional gradient. (There's a tutorial in her post if you want to see how it's done!)

I decided to do an all-brown gradient. The end result looks like a cappuccino to me!

The polishes I used were, from dark to light: Revlon Stormy Night, Julep Annemarie, Julep Otte, and OPI You're So Vain-illa.

I actually did this mani twice. The first time I put too much polish on the brush and lost the brush-strokey look I was going for. You almost want to do a dry-brush technique, and don't forget that you can go over the same place again if the color is too sparse.

Have a great week!

Today's mani: deconstructed Easter egg

Happy Easter! I hope everyone celebrating has a great time and some great food! Sadly I haven't had a real Easter dinner in seven years, and since it's still Passover there's a lot of stuff my husband can't eat. So I celebrated today by doing my nails (of course)!

I decided to do a mani that was reminiscent of Easter eggs but not full-on pastel. I'm calling it the deconstructed Easter egg. :-D

On my index and pinky fingers, I used a base of Julep Kimberly from their most recent mystery box. I still can't get over those speckled polishes! This one reminds me of those Easter candies that are egg-shaped and taste like malted milk balls. Anyone know what I'm talking about?

On my index finger I painted a chick using a small brush and the corner of a makeup sponge (because what comes out of a deconstructed egg? A chick!). I used Julep Bea, China Glaze Peachy Keen, and Revlon Stiletto. Mr. ALIQUID loved the chick and named him Frankie!

On my other two nails I used a base of Revlon Trade Winds and added some Easter-egg-style patterns. (Middle finger: Essie Neo Whimsical, Julep Bea, Zoya Blu; ring finger: China Glaze Peachy Keen, Maybelline Green With Envy, Essie Play Date.)

I finished everything with Revlon matte topcoat since eggs are matte!

What's your favorite thing to eat on Easter? Mine is lamb and mint jelly, followed by Jelly Bellys!

FingerFood's Theme Buffet #14 / Neverending Pile Challenge: Jelly beans

Ahoy! Today the planets have aligned to let me complete two challenges with one manicure! The FingerFood's Theme Buffet prompt for this week is delicious, and the Neverending Pile Challenge prompt is pastel. What's pastel and delicious? JELLY BEANS!

I'm a huge Jelly Belly fan. When I was a kid I belonged to the Jelly Belly fan club and got to try experimental and limited edition flavors. They're still my favorite Easter candy (well, I buy them after Easter when they're on sale!). My favorite flavors are probably root beer and juicy pear!

This was a very simple mani. I started with a base of Sally Hansen Petal Pusher (I needed three coats and it bubbled on me, boooo). Then I painted the jelly beans with a small dotting tool using Julep Minnie, Parker, Bea, Courteney and Alice, plus Zoya Blu. I finished with Revlon matte topcoat!

I managed to knock five untried polishes off the list with this mani (all but Parker and Blu)! This brings my total no-longer-untried count to six for the Neverending Pile Challenge! I'm gonna be keeping count for the whole challenge! (Remember, I started with close to 200 untrieds, so I still have a long way to go...)

What's your favorite Jelly Belly flavor?