Checkered with a Twist (Tutorial)

The other day I wanted to use tape for a checkered mani with a little twist--instead of splitting the nail into four perfect squares I wanted to use slanted lines so that it looks like the pieces 'lock' together.  My first attempt was a disaster because I didn't wait long enough for each step to dry, so I thought I'd slow down for round two and take pictures along the way.  Click "Continue reading..." below for the tutorial.

Continue Reading . . .

Orly Witch's Blue

I was surprised by how shimmery and vibrant Witch's Blue looks outdoors, because it looks darker (and murkier) in the bottle.  I used two coats in the pic above and since I still had GCOCL plate K04 on my desk from Monday I stamped one of the flower designs using China Glaze Milennium:

The design I chose (in the center of the plate above) is pretty big but I didn't want it to cover the entire nail of every nail, so I rotated the design around and stamped only parts of it.  Each nail ended up looking different but they all matched since they are from the same design:

Yellow for Easter

I always notice when people wear yellow polish, but I hesitated to try it myself because I was afraid it'd make my skin look sallow or unnatural.  I finally gave into temptation when I saw Orly Lemonade because it's such a sweet, soft pastel color and I had the perfect excuse with spring in the air and Easter right around the corner.

Overall I think if I'm only going to have one yellow in my collection, this is the right yellow for me.  It's not too bright or neon and it makes me feel cheerful just looking a it.  The pic above was taken in the morning, and later in the day I stamped a floral pattern from Konad m64 using Konad black:

The yellow looks a little bolder here in bright sun but it's still a nice pastel shade.

shades Secret Encounter

I'm so glad the sun is out so I can start taking pictures again!  For the mani above I used Secret Encounter from shades (by Barielle), which is a shimmery wine / magenta.  It reminds me of Just Dancin from Confetti except with more shimmer.

I taped off part of the nail to add a swipe of Orly Rage from the Foil FX collection, which is a rose / bronze foil, and then I stamped the big white flowers using GCOCL plate K04.

Edit (4/17): I posted a pic of GCOCL K04 here

Confetti - Just Dancin

Love this color!  Above is Just Dancin from Confetti.  It's sort of a plum / wine color, between a purple and red.  I don't have anything quite like it so I was happy to add this to my collection for just $2.  I wore this plain during the day but I wanted something more flashy for night:

I used tape to cover a section of Just Dancin on each nail then applied a coat of Rage from Orly's Foil FX collection.