The Neverending Pile Challenge: Ugliest(?)

Hey all! What a lazy day we had today...it's starting to get hot and humid here, so all we felt like doing was sitting around and watching TV. Oh well!

I'm finally catching up with the Neverending Pile Challenge with Friday's prompt, which is ugliest. Obviously this is another totally subjective call on my part, but I did have a polish in mind from the start...I chose Julep Karen, which is a pale-but-not-pastel orange shimmer with gold flecks. The silver shimmer gives it a kind of unpleasant greyish cast in my opinion. I paired Karen with Julep Hannah, a greenish-tan creme that I actually really like, but I know some people would consider it "pretty-ugly". It's an ugly combination anyway!

I think this shade of orange might be the single most unflattering color on me EVER. If you're wondering why I own Karen, it came in a Julep mystery box, so I didn't actually choose to buy it!


Total untrieds tried: 55 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate


 

FingerFood's Theme Buffet: Under the sea

Hi! Hope you're having a good weekend! Today I finally managed to get my FingerFood mani for the week done. The theme is under the sea. I decided to do jellyfish! (Apologies for the kinda ragged picture...I was in a rush.)

I started with a black base and used the watercolor method to make a watery background with several shades of blue polish, including Revlon Indigo Night and Plunge Pool, China Glaze Hanging in the Balance, and Sephora by OPI Ocean Love Potion. On top of that, I made white dots for the heads of the jellyfish and dabbed them with a Q-tip dipped in acetone to make them translucent. I added the tentacles and topped everything off with a coat of L'Oreal Miss Pixie, a blue jelly.

See ya tomorrow!

The Neverending Pile Challenge: Prettiest(?) polishes

Hey folks! Today's prompt for the Neverending Pile Challenge is prettiest. Now, I don't know about you, but it's impossible for me to choose one "prettiest" polish in my collection. (Almost) all my polishes are pretty in their own way--a creme is pretty in a different way from a glitterbomb, you know? So instead of trying to come up with some kind of prettiness rubric, I just grabbed a couple untried polishes that jumped out at me from my stash list as being really interesting.

I ended up wearing Orly Fowl Play, a deep red-toned purple jelly with orange-yellow flakies, tiny blue glitter and silver flecks; and Picture Polish Paradise, a blue-green sparkly foil with purple and holographic rose glitter. Now, I have to apologize a bit for my photographs: Paradise is so shiny that it basically gave my camera a panic attack, so I could only manage these side-on shots. But I hope they convey how these polishes look! I got two indoor shots and a sunlight shot. (One day I'll get a real lightbox, I promise.)

Orly Fowl Play and Picture Polish Paradise. Three coats with Out the Door topcoat.

Did you notice that Paradise has a slight color shift too?


Before I go, I realized I forgot to post this picture yesterday--here's Trudy supervising my stash-photographing process!

Total untrieds tried: 53 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate


 

2014 Blogger Challenge #11: My polish stash...photographed!

Good morning! I'm finally returning to the 2014 Blogger Challenge. You might have noticed that I haven't done it for a couple months--there were some prompts I didn't have much to say about, then I kinda got distracted. But I thought today's topic would be a perfect place to get back on the horse. The prompt is collections. What do I have a giant collection of? Nail polish, of course! If you like to see pictures of organized stuff, you will like this post!

This will obviously be image-heavy, so click the jump to see it all!

May's Museum-Worthy Manis!

Hey there! I've finally picked my five favorite nail art designs from my Pinterest board for last month! It was REALLY tough to narrow it down to just five this time...there are so many talented people out there. Read on to see my picks and make sure to go visit the original artists' posts!

1. Greek Pottery by Break Rules, Not Nails

I have a classics degree, so I couldn't NOT pick this one! The patterns come from a MoYou stamping plate, which I need right now, and I love the way she imitated the texture of pottery using saran wrap on her base colors!

2. Watercolor Effect Poppies by Lucy's Stash

Lucy's Stash is one of my absolute favorite blogs for nail art, especially for her floral designs, and this is a perfect example. I love this amazing vintage pattern and all the tiny variations in color she achieves with the watercolor method. She has a tutorial up for this mani if you want to try it yourself! (I might!)

3. Still Life by Wondrously Polished

Wondrously Polished did so many amazing manis this month, but I could only pick one! (Here's my runner-up!) I love it when nail artists use the whole hand as one canvas, and Lindsey has a great eye for color.

4. Woods and Vine by Style Those Nails

The flowers and vines in this mani are beautiful, but what sucked me in was the use of water marbling to make a wood grain pattern! Genius!

5. Epic Love Story by PiggieLuv

I had to save this truly epic set of five manis for last! Somehow Narmai had the fortitude to do a mani for each tier of this gorgeous wedding cake, and she absolutely nailed it! Look at how perfect and crisp those freehanded figures are!!



Well, I'm once again blown away by the talent in the nail art community. What was your favorite mani last month? Who should I be following?

The Neverending Pile Challenge: What was I thinking?

Good morning! It's time once again for the Neverending Pile Challenge! Today's theme is a great one: what was I thinking buying this? I think every nail polish hoarder can relate to this one! Sometimes you just impulsively grab a bottle and then instantly regret it.

My "what was I thinking" polish is from the Sally Hansen Fuzzy Coat collection of bar glitter toppers. All Yarned Up is a clear base with short yellow, peach and periwinkle bar glitters. Now, I hate bar glitter, and I'm not a huge fan of glitter toppers either, but for some reason I decided I needed a polish from this collection. OK, past me, that was a weird choice. Anyway, I did a glitter gradient using All Yarned Up over another untried, Zoya Willow.

OK, from an objective point of view I can see why this polish is cool...it looks like sprinkles or little feathers or something. It might come in handy if I do a cake or ice cream mani. (Which means I probably won't be able to part with it...I'm such a hoarder.) It's just not really my style though. Plus the little glitters kept poking me through the topcoat.

Are you a fan of the bar glitter trend?

Total untrieds tried: 51 + chevron decals + 1 stamping plate


 

May's Gimme That Polish!

Happy June! Here I am, slightly late, with my Gimme That Polish picks for May! These were my top five polishes among all the ones I pinned to my wishlist last month. If you like 'em too, go check out the swatches and then visit the brands' shops! (And if you have no more room in your Helmer for new polish, I'll hold on to them for you...)

1. Dollish Polish - Love Me Some Pie

I was surprised that this one ended up on my list, since I don't normally like this sort of random glitterbomb. But something about the squishy jelly and the contrast between the pink and black glitters sucked me in! (Dollish Polish shop | swatch by Accio Lacquer)

2. Fanchromatic Nails - The Dream of the Apples

This one's not a new release, but it kept popping up in my Etsy feed until finally I had to pin it. Fanchromatic Nails seems to be awesome at making this kind of hazy, ethereal glitter crelly. And I'm really digging the yellow-green base color. (Fanchromatic Nails shop | swatch by Pointless Cafe)

3. Lacquer Lust - Aubergine

I looooove matte polish, and this gorgeous purple suede is calling my name! The shimmer in it just adds more interest while still remaining subtle. (Lacquer Lust shop | swatch by Fashion Polish)

4. Dollish Polish - One Lifetime With You

Yep, it's another Dollish from The Ultimate Fandom Collection! This one is inspired by Aragorn and Arwen from The Lord of the Rings, which is part of why I love it so much. Just look at all those flakes and glitters! I could stare at this macro forever. (Dollish Polish shop | swatch by Accio Lacquer)

5. KBShimmer - Too Pop to Handle

Hnnngg, look at all the purple!! I would love this glittery jelly even without the flashes of holographic rainbows, but they just make everything a bit better, don't they? (KBShimmer shop | swatch by Work Play Polish)



That's all, folks! It's times like this I wish I was a millionaire! What polishes are you currently lusting after?