31-Day Challenge #17: glitter

For today's prompt I barely had to think at all before I knew what I wanted to do. I love the look of full-coverage glitter with solid-color accents; I've seen the idea on several blogs (I think on Accio Lacquer most recently).

This is two coats of Deborah Lippmann Superstar with Revlon Stiletto on the tips. I mattified the accent nail, then I decided to make the whole mani matte:

I think both versions are pretty classy! Which do you like better?


Don't forget to admire all of today's sparkly nails!

31-Day Challenge #16: Peruvian patterns

Well folks, today I'm officially more than halfway done with the 31-Day Challenge!! Just gotta keep that momentum going!

Today's prompt is "tribal". Can I just say first that I really hate the term "tribal"? It's often incorrect and just kind of racist. :-(

*gets off high horse* Anyway, I'm assuming "tribal" means "a pattern used by non-white people". I chose to reproduce some Peruvian textile patterns I found--I love the bright colors they use!

I picked four patterns from this lovely picture to attempt (hopefully you can tell which ones):

I'm pretty impressed with myself, I must say! I'm especially proud of the pattern on my ring finger.

I used a ton of polishes for this one:

• Revlon Impulsive
• Sinful Colors Snow Me White
• Deborah Lippmann On the Beach
• Revlon Plum Seduction
• Sally Hansen Lightening
• Essie Play Date
• Essie DJ Play That Song
• Essie The More the Merrier
• Wet 'n' Wild On a Trip
• Julep Meryl
• Julep Nan
• L'Oreal L'Orange

Whew, I think that's all! Oh, and I mattified everything because, you know, it's fabric! :-D

Don't forget to look at everyone else's "tribal" nails!

31-Day Challenge #15: delicate print

When I saw the word "delicate" in today's prompt, I knew I'd be stamping. I ended up choosing this really intricate labyrinthine stamp from Winstonia plate W112.

I wanted some interest in the background, but not so much that it would distract from the stamp. I ended up using a white background (Sinful Colors Snow Me White) and sponged two colors per finger on top:

• index finger: Zoya Sweet and China Glaze Peachy Keen
• middle finger: China Glaze Peachy Keen and Sally Hansen Lightening
• ring finger: Sally Hansen Lightening and Essie First Timer
• pinky: Essie First Timer and Essie Lapiz of Luxury

I used Revlon Stiletto for the stamp.

Check out today's other contributions!

31-Day Challenge #14: pansies

Today's challenge theme is flowers. I knew I could pull off a really easy look using dots, but I decided instead to challenge myself by freehanding a type of flower in more detail. I typed in "flowers" in Google image search and my eyes landed on pansies. I think because they look like they have faces, and also because of these creepy guys from Alice in Wonderland:

They're kind of terrifying actually. Real pansies are very pretty though! So I looked up pictures of four different-colored pansies and attempted to reproduce them on my nails.

I'm pretty happy with them! I just need to work on getting smoother lines (I probably need to invest in some polish thinner). I think the one on my index finger is my favorite!

I used five polishes for the main colors, and mixed each of them with black or white to get the darker and lighter shades:

• Zoya Carmen
• Revlon Impulsive
• Essie Lapiz of Luxury
• Revlon Plum Seduction
• Sally Hansen Lightening

Check out today's other floral manis!

31-Day Challenge #13: leopard print

For today's animal print prompt I went with the classic leopard print, since I'd never done it before. It's so easy! To make it a little more exciting I inverted the colors on my accent nail.

I started with a base of Julep Otte (really pretty on its own too!) and added the spots with a dotting tool using Revlon Stormy Night and Revlon Stiletto.

In other news, there was a turkey wandering around the neighborhood yesterday! Wonder where he came from...

Don't forget to check out everyone's wild manis!

31-Day Challenge #12: stripes

For today's prompt I made an attempt at freehanding rather than reaching for the striping tape. I need practice!

For the base color I used Essie First Timer (Love this color, but holy lobster hands Batman!) and I used acrylic paint for the stripes.

Next time doing stripes by hand (which will be coming up soon!) my goal is to use a lighter touch with the brush. Easier said than done, but practice makes perfect!

Oh and don't forget to admire all the other stripey manis today!

Swatch: I Love Nail Polish Mutagen

 The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.

I got this polish in the mail today and had to try it on immediately. I said "oooooh" out loud as soon as I opened the package! Mutagen is from I Love Nail Polish's new Ultra Chrome collection; it's a metallic multichrome that -- well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

(I apologize in advance for some weird angles in these pictures; some of the colors only show up when the main light source is hitting the nail from the side. I really need to make a new lightbox!)

The bottle shot shows almost every color in this polish...

I tried to capture as many nuances of the color shift as I could (I don't think I succeeded 100%). Prepare yourself for a wall of photos!

Uh. May. Zing. And you don't need a special lightbulb or anything to get these color shifts; I could see them all just by holding my hands at various angles in plain indoor lighting. (As you can tell by the bottle in the last pic, there's a red-orange shift that I wasn't even able to photograph.)

Just to make things even better, the formula was pretty much perfect. It didn't drag at all like I was expecting, and it was just the right thickness. You can see some brushstrokes and ridges just a little bit, but for a metallic polish that's not surprising. I only needed two coats with no base color.

Obviously I can't wear Mutagen very long on my left hand, thanks to the 31-Day Challenge, but I'm going to keep it on my right hand as long as I can!

Mutagen is currently available at I Love Nail Polish ($12.50 for 12 ml), but the collection has been very popular so it might go away quickly! ILNP is 3-free.

 The polish in this post was purchased by me. All opinions are my own.