Man pedi

Hi Kids!
Something a bit more attractive than my last mani....my ex/future husband's pedi with color!
About a month ago, I convinced Jim that he ought to wear polish on his toes.
This is the new 10 Professional Lacquer in #459 Showtime.... 2 coats, 1 coat Essie MAY

Colors better irl

Hi Kids!
I'm back with my marriage license/bridal nails. They don't look like much in my pictures, but I assure you, they look lovely irl. It's times like this when I really wish I knew more about photography and my camera's settings, because the Purple Picture Eater stole my colors!!!
Aside from some off white floral and dot stickers and medium lime colored fauxnad leaves, everything else on my nails (a trio of small purple fauxnad flowers, purple floral stones and purple sequins) are all a similar shade of purple. You wouldn't know it by my pictures, The stones look blue and the sequins look pinkish, and because of that, I did not want to make this post.

I'm not wrong when I say most Followers are interested in eye candy not text. I can't *stand* putting up a mani that looks sub par, but feel I can't blow this one off...~sigh~

Anyway, Jim and I have our marriage license, and Monday we go back to Elkton to get married. I already started practicing "half of yours' is mine" by grabbing half the cash in Jim's wallet!

The green I used to stamp the stylized leaves is the wrong shade as well  :(  It's a warm mid lime green, not a pastel mint.
Both the green and purple I used for stamping are frankens. Aside from a handful of SH Insta-Dri polishes, all my stamping polishes are now frankens.
Fauxnad plates- A04, H28, T33

Base for my bridal nails- Elianto, Sparkling Diva Lilac

Hi Kids!
Tomorrow morning, Jim and I are driving 1 1/2 hours to Elkton, Maryland for a marriage license. Since there is a 48 hour wait after application to get married, we'll be traveling back on Monday (I'm working Sat & Sun) to get married by the Justice of the Peace.

I doubt very much that this mani will last until Monday, but I wanted to do something. Having Bridal nails for the marriage license app will have to do...besides, it's not like we weren't married to each-other before. (Married for 12 years, divorced for 10- for those of you who don't know).

I received Elianto Sparkling Diva Lilac in a swap from Thriszha of Fab Ur Nails. The moment I opened my package, I knew that this shimmering, glass flecked polish would be the one for my "day".

The base color of Elianto SD Lilac is a sheer, cool lilac, that leans blue and slightly dusty. It would never reach opacity on its' own but for the super-duper amount of glass fleck that flashes a warm raspberry. I love high contrast and juxtaposition, and  is all about being cool and hot, soft and fiery.

I have no clue what nail art I'm going to put on this mani. I usually leave pretty and interesting polishes alone.

No single picture does Elianto SD Lilac justice...you'll have to use your imagination to piece together standout facets from each picture into one polish.
Probably the most color accurate, but lacks the hot flashy glass flecks. You can see a glimpse of it (enlarge pic) on the left side of both my middle and ring fingernails. Very metallicaly looking.

The glass fleck flash also visible in this pic...right side of nails.

If I could only have 1 polish...& swap pictures

It would be, hands down,  Maybelline Vanishing Venus.
You read that right, Kids- I'd choose an old Maybelline.
I've always loved the leaf colors of the ornamental plum trees growing in my yard, so it's no wonder I would love Vanishing Venus...the colors are very similar!
I took a lot of pictures..mani is almost 4 days old, dings, scratches and tip-wear ahead.

Click to view awesome shimmer!

*****************************************************
A while back, Thriszha from FAB UR NAILS and I set up a couple of swaps. The following pictures are swap #2...Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of swap #1.

I had to wait almost a week to pick up my package from the Post office. I barely had time to sleep this week for all the extra hours my boss threw on me. I asked for a week off, and he decided to "use me up" as much as he could before my time off starts. I also did not get 7 consecutive days. I'm off Mon-Fri, have to go back to work Sat & Sun, then finish my vacation Monday & Tuesday.

So, yea, I worked all week, fretting the whole time about my swap polishes sitting in the post office. I finally picked my package up today (day #1 of my vacation) and tore into it the minute I got in my car...
Look at the pretties Thriszha sent me!!!!!!
Etude House and Elianto stunners!!!!!!

Thank you so much Sweetie- I LOVE all of them!!!!

Nail shape & Milani Digital

Hi Kids!
Yay! I fixed my nail shape!
My natural nails are flat and triangular in shape...meaning-  My nail bed from the cuticle starts out with a slight, rounded curve, but quickly goes flat and fans out at the tips. They are very unattractive, bordering on mis-shaped...and that's my un-injured hand, the hand I use for pictures. My right hand is that and more. Due to a crush injury, they have ripples,dents, un-even growth and curling at odd places and angles. A challenge for trained nail techs, and a nightmare for my un-trained self.

It hasn't been easy for me to create consistent, "good nails". As you all are witness to- they don't always look good, and that makes me very sad....Doing the Happy Dance today, because I think they look great!

In order to get a curvier nail, I have to build-up my nail bed. Unfortunately, this makes for a very thick nail. Something I just learned...If I add some more length, it gives my nail "time" to transition/taper to a thinner tip.

Milani Digital- 3 coats
1 coat Seche

2 FOTDs

Hey Kids!
Thank you all for commenting on my Fireworks mani!  For all the glitter/sequins on it, it was surprisingly easy to remove. I've had 2 FOTDs since that mani, and am here to post them for you.
Both are relatively simple, using just one image. I hope this doesn't disappoint too many Readers. I'm not happy with the shape of my nails after I did my last fill.... So, instead of working on a layered mani, I'll be spending the rest of my evening off tweaking my nail shape.

Full sun

Shade

If you want to get a good look at the holographic sparkle of the charcoal stars, click the following picture- Taken under fluorescent lights in the restaurant's kitchen.














lightbox

**Base color is an un-named, un-numbered PA Pro polish. The formula pretty much sucked...even after adding a lot of thinner to it - twice- it still applied like it was elastic...weird. I love the color though, an awesome red purple with red and blue shimmer.
**Fauxnad plate A12, double, triple stamped
**Konad Princess Polish White Pearl
**Holographic stars- from DS- they came in a multi nail art pack that included 2 glitters and fimo slices.
**4(!!!!) coats Seche- star "points" still caught on everything, scratched my lip too.
While I really loved this mani- the points of the stars drove me nutz.

Next!
Yuck- look at how dry my hands are in these pictures. This is pretty much the norm for me during the summer. It comes from handling money and frequent hand washing. By the time my week ends on Sunday, my hands look this bad. The mani is sure pretty, though. Tangerine and bright rose are so yummy together!
Shade

Setting Sun

**Base color- 3 coats Orly Life's A Peach. Love this pretty tangerine polish with its soft raspberry shimmer.
**Fauxnad plate  A05
**Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Speedy Sunburst
**1 coat Love My Nails Dazzling
**1 coat Seche

4th of July, Fantasy Fireworks Fauxnad

Hi Kids!
!Warning!  If you like classy/subdued/simple manis, you might want to get your eye bleach ready. The following fauxnadicure out Blings anything I've ever done.  o_O
I didn't mean for this fireworks mani to be so Blingy. I had to do something to cover up 2 disasterous smudging accidents while stamping.

I really *love* how this turned out! It reminds me of Orthodox Vestment fabric.
Anyway- this is 3 coats Orly Royal Navy, several fauxnad and Bundle Monster plates, lots of frankens to stamp with, blue holo sequins, red, coral, lilac iridescent hex sequins, glitter stripers, 1 coat of Seche over Royal Navy ~this is what made my stamper slip and smudge :(
and 2 or 3 coats seche over the finished mani.
Eight coats of polish plus the stamping and the glitter makes for a lot of layers on my acrylics.

All pics are clickable for larger view

My first video...check out the sparkle that my stills didn't capture!