D's Nails by DECOY Opening Reception

Hey guys!

So for those who love art and manicures, I have something super special to present. I went to an opening reception at The Fridge, which is a local art venue that promotes community and youth engagement in the arts. A local artist, named Decoy, presented her exhibit there and did manicures for free!!! They are super cute and I have one to share. :)

I love bows, first of all, so when I saw that she had several designs featuring bows, I was head over heels and couldn't wait. Little did I know, that there would be actual bows involved...

EEEEEE SO CUTE.

What do you guys think of the bows and 3D Nail art in general?

PS- That yellow you see? Remnants of Illamasqua's Optimist, which is difficult to remove when you're using nail polish remover in the dark.

Sunset Gradient

Happy Tuesday! I hope you had a great day. Apart from my poor feet, I had a good day. The morning was decidedly meh but the day picked up as I started my new and improved job!

Tomorrow I'm debuting something different from nails. I'll post it on Wednesdays- I haven't decided on every Wednesday or every other Wednesday, but we'll see. :)

Last night I did this mani- you can tell because even with a top coat, the next day I will almost always have tip wear. I also did not feel like cleaning it up last night so the clean up that I did this morning was er, a little hairy, because it was the first thing I did after rolling out of bed. HOWEVER, I love the colors. Do I love the mani? Uhm... well I'm taking it off as soon as this post is written.

It reminds me of a sunset at a beach. I definitely thought of home- I was going to add some yellow and maybe a few black lines to mimic the silhouette of a seagull or two BUT that will wait for another day when I  have thought more about how to go about this.

The polishes I used are:

China Glaze: Bahamian Escape

Essie: Tart Deco

SOPI: High Maintenance

Peter thinks it looks like parrot inspired. So, is a sunset, or a parrot?

3-2 Nails

I got a new job! This time in management, thank you baby jesus. It's a dangerous job too- for my bank account and for my wallet because 40% off everything = a hell of a lot more shoes. Oh god I love shoes. I could blog about shoes too but nail polish is my true love. This company is also a bit more fashion forward (not that my current location isn't) and hopefully, not as restricting on what I can wear.

ANYWAY-

Today I have 3-2 nails. What that means is three of my nails are one color, and the other two are a different color. For the colors today, I have Sephora by OPI's High Maintenance which is a gorgeous bright red with orange and yellow undertones. I forgot how much I love this color! I also have China Glaze's Purple Panic on. I wasn't super excited about the color combination  until I had it dried. There's something super duper refreshing about the color combination. I've been very matchy-matchy/color coordinating lately so maybe it has something to do with that. It's new, and it's the last few weeks of summer.

In the shade

In the sun

Yayyy! Now all that I need to do is figure out what in the world I'm going to wear today.

What's your favorite off-beat color combination?

All You Need Is Love

This manicure was inspired by a client. I was having a rough day until one of my newest clients came to see me. As she was leaving she walked straight up to a manager and said, "Michele deserves a promotion!" Her walk was definitely determined- I was actually terrified for a moment, thinking that she was actually going to complain, or something. It's particularly great because I've been chasing one for god knows how long now. Finally some support!

She made my day. So this manicure is for her- she says she only wears black, grey and navy but an outfit I put together for her proved otherwise!

The base coat is Otherwise Engaged by OPI. It's their Spring 2009 Softshades collection. Even after years of having this- it still applies beautifully even if the dry time leaves me watching tv for two hours. Seriously if I don't have t.v. on or something that doesn't require hands while I do my nails, I will 100% always ruin it.

The hearts are China Glaze Dance Baby and Spoiled Pink Flamingo (the darker/neon pink).

Don't forget to make someone's day- do a random act of happiness. :)

A poorly planned mani

I was super scatterbrained this weekend. I was just completely out of it, and wasn't thinking for much of it. I need more than just one day off! This mani is just as confused as I am! I also ran out of q-tips for clean up...

I went into this thinking I was going to do a Chevron mani. Then, I realized I set up wrong. The neon pink should have been the base coat.  So I thought, "Ooh! I'm going to do hour glasses!" But no, that didn't happen either. But it will, because I'm sure I can think of some crazy fashion inspiration for it.

Speaking of inspiration, I was thinking chocolate and I always imagine chocolate coming in bright pink packaging even though it doesn't. Since Peter the Great picked up scotch tape for me, I decided to attempt a chevron mani... I mean they aren't difficult by any means, but I got my colors reversed. Sigh. 

Despite how completely baffled he is by this obsession, he's been pretty supportive. He even picked up a nail polish I've been wanting for a while for me and endured a trip to Sally Beauty Supply yesterday! What a trooper.

For this mani, I used China Glaze's Call of the Wild as a base, China Glaze's Purple Panic, and Milani's Fresh Teal.

Fresh Teal is one of my favorite polishes. It's in my top rotation. The formula is great, but like most neons you definitely need a top coat for it. Cool toned pale people rejoice! This is SUCH a beautiful teal cream. I can wear it year round and while a neon, it isn't "you need sunglasses'" so it's a bit more versatile. It has the best of both worlds- vibrant, but pliant.

Anyhoo:

This photo was taken in the evening shortly after completing the manicure.

The second one was taken in sunlight whereas the third one was taken in shade.

What do you think of the chocolate and pink combo?

Galaxy nails!

Let me start of with saying: I love this manicure.

It's super easy despite how complicated it looks on the nail. All you need is a black base, 3-4 nail polish colors for sponging, a white (or glitter nail polish) for stars, and a cosmetic sponge. I tear my sponges into tiny pieces, but some people have issues with sponge lumps so you can also cut the sponges.

I actually did this on my friend's nails! A few days ago, I walked into work with these nails and she demanded that I do them. So I'm quite happy to do them for her, especially since she's moving away to FL.

But anyway, have a picture!

The weather was pretty icky today- we have the remnants of Hurricane Isaac so unfortunately this was the only good shot I got because lighting was kind of difficult.


I used:

• Mourning Glory by OPI (Your standard black creme base)
• Turquoise & Caicos by Essie
• Purple Dragon by China Glaze
• Pink Flamingo by Spoiled
• Snow Globe by China Glaze

Thanks R for providing your fingertips! Enjoy your nails. :)