NOTD: The Evolution of the Aubergine & Turquoise Water Marble + Tutorial

Up late again - lots & lots of pics for this one, because I kept it on for quite a while & so kept switching it up. It actually turned out better than I expect at every stage =)

I started out with a base color of Finger Paints Black Expressionism, a basic black. Then the marbling is done with NK Green Apple & NK After Dark - I was super pleased with how evenly I managed to place these chevrons on the nail:

Here's the tutorial:



After a few days I topped it with Finger Paints Motley:

And then topped that with Warpaint Beauty Mattify:

Which version is your favorite?  Leave a comment & let me know!

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: The Evolution of Zoya Holly

It's discouraging when I get behind on things.  And then that leads to procrastination.  And that (obviously) leads to falling even further behind.  I've had a few people ask if I've stopped blogging, and a few others suggest that maybe I should stop blogging.  But I'm not & I won't & I'm re-dedicating myself to getting caught up with this *ahem* nearly 6 month backlog of pics.  And I'm starting today so that July isn't a month with no posts at all.

In an effort to speed things up a bit, I'm not going to be labeling my pics with what kind of light they're taken in anymore.  I think for the most part you guys are pretty used to the 4-5 kinds anyway - the natural lamp, camera flash, shade, sun & occasionally overcast.  I may or may not start doing it again once I'm caught up - we'll see when I get there LOL.

I started with a beautiful green, Zoya Holly:

To which I then added Finger Paints Flecked for some flaky goodness:

And for my final day I topped it with Warpaint Beauty Mattify:

Here's a look at it in motion:



And that's that - if I had more to say at this point I've unfortunately forgotten LOL.  And that may be the case for a lot of these, since they are so old ... but even with nothing for me to say I think they speak for themselves =)

Thanks for sticking around - and thanks for reading.

~Colette

The Evolution of Zoya Paz + Tiger Stripes Tutorial

OK, don't faint - it's a weekday post =)

Zoya Paz is an awesome bright orange, next thing to being a neon, and a very stand out color all on its own - the camera does not do it justice.  These pics are old enough that I can't remember how in the world I managed the gouge on my index finger LOL:

I decided to amp it up even further with a coat of Nails Inc Electric Lane:

And then after a day I decided to try my hand with some freehand tiger stripes.  I used black acrylic paint for the stripes:

Here's the tutorial:

I was really quite pleased with how everything came out.  Before that I'd always just gone with stamping but I think I'll try some more freehand animal print in the future.

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

The Evolution of OPI DS Temptation

So, let's get some nail pics on this polish blog, eh?  I know it's been a while.

OPI DS Temptation is one of the most recent additions to the Designer Series.  & while they're not as holographically awesome as many of the original colors, it's still a blurple glittergasm & a totally gorgeous polish:

I could have & should have left well enough alone but after a day or 2 I thought I would add some stamping with Komad image plate m69 - I don't know WTF was going on with my white stamping polish, but this is how it turned out - just a patchy mess, worse than it shows up in pics, and not my best job at matching edges either:

Not cool.  Not cool at all - especially late at night without time for a complete change.  So I attempted to cover it all up, using Zoya Izzy, from their 2011 Gems & Jewels Holiday collection:

I didn't quite get the coverage I was looking for after a couple of coats, so I attempted further camouflage with OPI Servin' Up Sparkle, from one of the Serena Williams duos that I picked up a while ago:

& while I wasn't quite happy with it that way either, by that time it was too late & I just kind of gave up LOL.  Needless to say the next day I soaked the whole mess off & found something simple & awesome to replace it with ... which I'll share with you soon =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette

NOTD: The Evolution of Ulta Chocolate Kiss

We've been having ridiculously nice & unseasonably warm weather here - the high today was 79!  In March - in Minnesota!  Not normal but you won't see me complaining =)  So that's just one of my excuses why I haven't gotten more done lately LOL.

Still catching up, still back in January's manicures.  This one started out with Ulta Salon Formula Chocolate Kiss:

After a day I added Finger Paints Twisted - a multi-colored flakie:

But I wasn't satisfied with that, so I topped it with China Glaze Matte Magic:

Here's a look in motion:

I should be able to get a few more posts edited tonight ... I really should stop putting off my taxes, but if I can't make myself sit down & do them I'll be posting tomorrow too =)

Thanks for reading.

~Colette