Halloween 2016: Coven Swarm.

This is an incredibly half-assed version of the Halloween nails I did last year. Not great, but good enough, since Halloween tends to sneak up on me. 

While Coven wasn't my favorite season of AHS, the aesthetic was gorgeous, and I came away from it loving the combination of black and dirty, taupe-y lavenders. I own both in spades, but sadly I cannot for the life of me do a good glitter gradient anymore, so what's on my nails is a poor facsimile of what I wanted to do. Also it's my left hand so it's going to be naturally messier (southpaw here) since my right is recovering from a pretty outstanding nail breakage. 

I used M.A.C. Modern Movement, which is a gorgeous enigma of a polish. Is it taupe? Lavender? Grey? Pinky-beige? The answer is all of the above, dependent upon the lighting. It's in my top ten favorite polishes on earth and I wish I'd bought a back up. The black glitter is Sally Hansen Ruffle, which was (is?) part of their Luxe Lace line. The suspension is pretty viscous so they don't spread as well as I'd like, but it's black glitter, which you don't see every day. I tried to do a swarm-type gradient, but like I said before, I've lost some of my touch. If I hold my hand far enough away from my face it looks ok, and I can at least pretend my cuticles aren't as neglected as they are. 

As far as Halloween goes, not going to be doing much. I've got a couple movies I want to watch, but since I'm off sugar (45 lbs. down so far, woo!) no baking or treats. Whatever you end up doing, have fun!

China Glaze Getting to Gnaw You

Fall is joke this year. It's always late in coming where I live-Southern California isn't known for its festive weather-but it was 89 degrees in my living room yesterday. I take two cold showers a day to stave off sticky sweating. I do most of my errands in the evenings when I don't have to worry about 2nd degree burns from just sitting in my car. I run out of cool clothes 5 times as fast because I sweat through them till they're soaking. I can't cook a hot meal because it makes the whole house turn into an oven. And I'm really starting to resent it. Frankly, if you live in a climate that allows for blissfully chilly autumn days, and gorgeous leaf coloring, I kind of hate you. I hate you and your scarves and your riding boots and your hot drinks. You suck. Meanwhile I'm sweating to death amidst fucking palm trees and the sun hurts my eyes.

In addition to this, no matter how normal my nails look in these pictures, they're falling apart and I have no idea how long it will be before they are normal again. Six of my fingernails have become partially detached from my nail bed-I can only assume it's psoriasis-related, because I don't have any other symptoms that would indicate a chemical burn. It doesn't hurt, but I have to be very careful not to tear them, or get them caught on something-I don't doubt they'd completely tear off if I were careless. 

Halloween, right now anyway, seems pointless to me. It's too hot to even think about burning my scented candles or wearing sweaters, most of the people in my house are too ill to decorate or think about trick or treaters, and I'm obviously out of sorts. Right now, the only way I can think to mark the holiday is to wear Getting to Gnaw You.

I have to just say first that I hate the name. It makes me think about the song, and then it gets stuck in my head and I become even more annoyed and unreasonable than I am right now. But damn, it's a nice color. It's a dark, smoky jelly filled with small, coppery-orange glitters. Very Halloweeny. I did one thick coat over Essie Licorice. It dries down matte, so if you want it shiny, top coat is a must. 

I'll see how I'm feeling closer to Halloween. Who knows, my mood may change. But from where I'm standing right now, what's the point?

Birthday Mani 2.0: O.P.I. Emotions, My Favorite Ornament, & Wonderous Star

This is, without a doubt, the most decadent manicure I've ever done. I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while, and what better day to wear it than yesterday/today? Tonight I will be frolicking around at the Grove wearing a gold headband and a black beaded sweater. Winged eyeliner will be featured. I'm super excited...28 is going to be a much better year than 27 was. 

And so I celebrate with one of my favorite color combinations...you just don't get much more luxe than black and gold glitter. I used Emotions (black texture), My Favorite Ornament (champagne glitter), and Wonderous Star (champagne glitter with black glitter hexes), and tied everything together with some black rhinestones. I kept pausing while I was doing this manicure, thinking to myself, is this too much? Am I going overboard with this? 

Naaaaaaah. Gotta celebrate yourself, you know? It's a hard lesson to learn, but nothing is more important than celebrating and loving yourself.

I did 3 coats of My Favorite Ornament and Wonderous Star, and 2 coats of Emotions. I've got to express just how beautiful Emotions is. It's faceted, like marcasite, and catches the light so beautifully. I was waiting and waiting for O.P.I. to do a pure black Liquid Sand, and they did not disappoint. 

Revlon Knockout & Hard Candy Jubilee

I am not a patient person by nature, so  what was supposed to be a full manicure of swampy Halloween goodness turned into a hurried accent nail. 

The first coat of Jubilee behaved fairly well; subsequent coats put up a fight. I blame the bar glitter. Several cotton pads and practically an entire bottle of nail polish thinner (slight exaggeration) later, I gave up and carefully painted on an accent nail. 

Jubilee is a swampy green jelly packed full of black micro glitter, larger black hexes, holographic silver hexes and long, thin orange bar glitter. I hate, loathe, despise, and abominate bar glitter in any form, but the polish was just too unique to pass up.

3 coats of Jubilee, 2 of Revlon Knockout, which is a basic black.

Maybelline Pretty in Polka

Who knew pink was going to be my color this year? I'm as shocked as you are. 

Pretty in Polka was part of my birthday gift to my sister last year. She's a pink fiend and I thought it would be a fun way to wear it, but it just sort of sat in her small polish collection and I just couldn't help myself. Turns out she didn't really like it, and just didn't want to hurt my feelings. Puh-lease. Gimme. 

I'm now pretty much convinced that I need this entire Polka Dots collection. They're easy to apply, super glossy, and surprisingly easy to remove. Pretty in Polka is a bright, cheerful pink jelly full of black and white matte hex glitters in different sizes. Effortless nail art. 

I think the pink jelly is my favorite part. It's just so bright and glossy and transparent. Michelle from ALC referred to it as lip gloss for your nails, and that's dead on; it's just a nice wash of glossy pink color. 

This was three thin coats. I actually liked it at two, but I had a lot of gaps where I thought glitter should go, so I dabbed a third coat on. Even though it was super glossy on it's own, I top coated out of habit. 

I can't believe it's June already.

L'Oreal Le Pastille

I haven't seen any of the polishes from this Les Blancs collection anywhere but Bed Bath and Beyond, which is frustrating because I frequent CVS way more often and want a few more. This was the only one I picked up at BB&B, Le Pastille. 

This makes me want an Oreo milkshake. Bad. It's different sizes of shiny black glitter suspended in a soft, sheer off-white/light beige. I layered two coats of Le Pastille over one coat of Orly Decades of Dysfunction. I've also worn it over Nicole by O.P.I. Am I Making Myself Claire? and that gives it a sort of lavender undertone which is very pretty as well. 

Application was great. Seriously, it was no trouble at all. The glitter spread nice and evenly, and I didn't have to do any placing or dabbing. I'm sure it would have been a nightmare if I didn't use undies, but I've learned my lesson; I don't want to spend hours scrubbing black glitter off my nails. 

I was binge-watching Once Upon a Time last night, and was top coating during a particularly suspenseful part and sort of lost track of how many coats I did. I know I did a coat of Gelous...possibly two coats of GCS. Oops. 

On the upside my manicure is perfectly smooth (not that this polish is particularly bumpy-the glitters lie nice and flat) and rock hard. 

Halloween 2013! China Glaze Fortune Teller, Revlon Streetwear Trick or Treat, & Revlon Knockout

Have I mentioned that I love Halloween? I’m throwing a little shindig tonight and have so much decorating to do, so I’ll try to make this quick.

I wanted this to be a little more elaborate than it is, but my freehand skills are limited to polka dots, and I don’t have any stamping materials (yet), so this was what I came up with for my Halloween manicure. The orange is one of the rarest polishes I have in my stash, Revlon Streetwear Trick or Treat. I have scoured the web and can’t even prove its existence! It’s a gorgeous shimmery medium orange with fine orange and gold shimmer-in the right light it looks almost candlelit. I have a hunch that Revlon Haunted Heart that came out last year is a similar color, but since I don’t have it I can’t compare. The black creme is Revlon Knockout, a nice basic black. The glitter is another one of my rarities, China Glaze Fortune Teller. It has a semi-opaque black base and is filled with different sizes of orange glitter hexes. The rhinestones I got at a swap meet a few weeks ago. The polka dots on my thumb were made with a bobby pin.

I’m going as Little Red Riding Hood this year, hopefully I can snap a picture of it before the night is through. These nails certainly don’t match my red cape, but really, how could I not wear my favorite Halloween polishes?

Have a great night everyone!

Edited to add: I didn't get a shot of my costume in full, but at least I snapped a phone pic of my most radical, amazing Wet n' Wild false eyelashes:

Do you see the little deer head and antlers with the butterfly resting on them? I wish I'd bought a backup pair of these!

Wet n Wild Creepy Pumpkin & Nubar Black Polka Dot

Here’s an intentional Halloween polish! I don’t know why it took me so long to wear this!! It was from the Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers from last year, and I just never got around to wearing it. Shame on me.

Creepy Pumpkin is a draw-dropping, glass-fleckish orange shimmer that catches the light no matter if you’re outside in the sun or under florescent bulbs. There are occasional flecks of bright green and yellow that sparkle in between the orange and really make it look like a pretty pumpkin patch. It’s a bit sheer, so I layered two coats of it over a Fantasy Makers from this year called Ghouls Rush In, which I’ll show a swatch of a little later on.

And of course I slapped Black Polka Dot over it to give it even more of a Halloween vibe.

Can’t stop looking at this!!

Maybelline Color Show Dotty

I broke about four nails at Disneyland, so I present this awesome polish to you on nubs!! I actually think it looks pretty good on short nails though.

Even though I don’t think this was an intentional Halloween polish, I mean…look at it. If this doesn’t scream “HALLOWEEENOMG!” then I don’t know what does.

Dotty is several sizes of black and white matte hex glitters suspended in a bright orange jelly base. I had to do a bit of placement with the larger glitters, but painting was not the hassle I expected it to be.

This was two full coats, and a bit of placing on a third. Don’t expect this one to come out smooth, I have two coats of Gelous and two of my regular Grand Central Station on top of it.

I just love everything about this. The orange jelly is bright, but doesn’t obscure the glitter, and I’ve had people complimenting my nails all day.

Maybelline Color Show Twilight Rays

It is overcast and rainy today, so I had to snap these pictures in between showers. On the one hand, raaaaaaaaaaaaain! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! On the other, less than stellar pictures. I’m not the greatest photographer to begin with, so anyone keeping up with this is truly awesome.

Admittedly, Twilight Rays looks less than remarkable on camera, which is a shame because it’s really beautiful. Its black base is chock-full of irregularly shaped, foil-y shimmer in orange and gold, with flashes of bright emerald green. It catches the light beautifully and is quite shiny and smooth without topcoat. This was three coats.

I’ve got two more Color Show polishes to show you later on in the month; I’m really liking the brush. It’s skinny and short, but not short enough to where you feel out of control.

Halloween is in full-swing over here. My best friend and I are coordinating costumes, planning a little party, and even my boyfriend is going to dress up!

Essie Power Clutch & Nubar Black Polka Dot

I wasn’t going for Halloween with this manicure, but it ended up looking like one, somehow. It reminds me of Edward Gorey, and old-school Tim Burton…those black on dark grey pencil drawings. Sort of?

Power Clutch is a nice, creamy, dark grey polish with the standard essie creme/jelly formula. It was opaque in two coats. Nubar Black Polka Dot is just different sizes of black hexagonal glitter in a clear base-a black glitter topper. I only did one coat. The base is slightly more viscous than other glitter toppers I own, but not enough that “placing” the glitter with the brush is impossible.

Feeling a bit under the weather today. It’s hot and I have a sneaking suspicion that my godson gave me a cold.

Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow & China Glaze Liquid Leather

My boyfriend requested a black manicure, but since it looked a bit too plain on its own, I slapped one of my favorite glitter toppers over it. It didn’t turn out quite the way I’d imagined, but I still really like it; sparkles everywhere!!!

I don’t know what happened to my bottle of Liquid Leather, but when I went to paint my nails, it was completely gunked up. Granted, I don’t use it that often, but I have other China Glazes that aren’t in heavy rotation that are just fine. So either it evaporated (can that even happen?) or my grandmother raided it to touch up the black bits on her car. Why she does it I have no idea, I think she thinks it’s as good as detailing.

Anyway, even though I was able to thin it out somewhat, the formula was almost impossibly thick. This made it a legit one-coater, but I also had very bad bubbles. Dry time was excruciating.

Boom Boom Pow is a DL I’ve had my eye on for a very long time, and after mooning over it for ages at the beauty supply, I just bit the bullet and bought it. I’m glad I did-I mean, look at it. Gorgeous. I love gold and I love sequin glitter. And it’s actually not just gold! In the sun I can see flashes of green micro-sparkly-whatsits as well as orange. In addition, there are the large hex sequin glitters, small round gold glitters, and irregularly shaped gold flecks which I assume is the 24k gold dust that is boasted about.

This was one coat of Liquid Leather and one coat of Boom Boom Pow. I’m not a huge fan of the DL brush…it’s a bit soft for spreading the glitter evenly. This is going to be a nightmare to take off…I might just leave it till it chips.