Oxblood and Gold Glitter Accent Nail

I'm back! What a busy last two years it has been. I moved cities twice, apartments thrice, spent a summer in Paris, got a kitten, and started a new job! Well same job really, just different orchestra. My dream orchestra. For right now it's a one year position, but I'm hoping to be here for good.

With an iPhone and a lot of time on my hands (no pun intended), it's finally time to start posting again. Expect to see new manicure pictures twice a week. They might be a new polish acquisition, old polishes you may or may not have seen before, or I might create something special inspired by whatever concert we're performing, in which case I'll share some media of my inspiration. Be prepared too for some thrift store finds, baking recipes, shots and stories from Paris, as well as a kitten pic or too. And please feel free to comment about it all!

Today's manicure is China Glaze Naughty and Nice from the Holiday 2010 collection. It's a rich maroon creme that's almost a jelly. I love that it looks opaque but the color depth varies: It's like swishing around a glass of wine. The oxblood color is perfect for fall and sanguine enough for Halloween week.

China Glaze Naughty and Nice

Since I'm lacking any other bling on my left ring finger, I added one accent nail in Color Club Take The Stage. Take the Stage is gold glitter with large silver holographic flakes in a clear base. This is four coats.

China Glaze Naughty And Nice with Color Club Take The Stage

 Warming up backstage I was mesmerized by the accent nail. The oxblood matched our concert folders and the glitter matched my horn! Not intentional, but I was excited about the coincidental coordination.

blinded by bling backstage

Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I appreciate your patience over the past several months and look forward to sharing more fabulous fingernails and fun with you!

L.A.K.E.

Howdy friends! This is an exciting weekend coming up: Tomorrow I fly to L.A. for 24 hours, then it's off to Austin for a weekend lake-house retreat with my boyfriend and our friends. I haven't seen him for 3 weeks so I'm quite excited :-)

It seemed too soon to part with my Coronation mani, so I kept it on my index finger as an accent nail. Then I used L'OREAL Waters Edge, a serene aqua creme, and a coat of OPI Silver Shatter.

L'OREAL Waters Edge, OPI Silver Shatter, Coronation Accent Nail

The result: something suitable for California and the lake! Now hopefully it will be sunny this year :-)

Do you have any fun weekend plans?

OPI Pink Friday with Glitter Blizzard Accent Nail

Howdy friends. Today I had a little fun with Pink Friday from the OPI Nicki Minaj collection. This is the last polish from this collection I have to show with you. It's a bubblegum pink creme with a hint of pastel to keep it from being too girly. Don't get me wrong, it's still very girly, but with that Nicki Minaj knock-you-out edge. On my ring fingers I added OPI Turquoise Shatter, then topped it with OPI Save Me, the holographic bar glitter.
This is two coats of Pink Friday with Turquoise Shatter and Save Me accent finger.

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

 

OPI Pink Friday, two coats with OPI Turquoise Shatter and OPI Save Me on ring finger

Looking at the accent nail is kind of like looking through a blizzard of glitter, but I kind of like the effect. You can't see the cracks but the light catches the holograph and the pink and blue make a good effect underneath.

As far as Pink Friday goes, look at how shiny it is without top coat! It self levels and dries in minutes, making for a very east and fast pink manicure.

Leaf the Space Cadet at the Altar

My manicure mojo has indeed been down as of late, that is until today's creation rejuvenated my spirits!  Here is SEPHORA by OPI Leaf Him At The Altar...

SEPHORA by OPI Leaf Him At The Altar, two coats

 ...or is it?!

Woah, betcha you didn't see that one coming!  Isn't that amazing?!  Orly Space Cadet is on my ring fingers and at the correct angle, the two are indistinguishable!  I've been getting into accent fingers recently, seeing them an extra way to express the creativity that's just bursting out.  And with so many polishes available, who can ever settle on using just one? Now I can't take complete credit for this design though, it was a collaboration with a very good friend who wanted something a little out of the ordinary. I brought Orly Space Cadet for her and she supplied Leaf Him at the Altar.  The one variation on the manicure I gave her is that in addition to the accent finger, she also has a racing stripe of Space Cadet down her thumbs.  Awesome!

SEPHORA by OPI Leaf Him At The Altar with three coats Orly Space Cadet on ring finger

Not only do I love the completed look, but Leaf Him At The Altar is amazing unto itself.  A brilliant frosty springy green, beautiful application, terrific hue.  Major kudos to my friend for letting me borrow it, and for her adventurous manicure spirit!  It has indeed reaffirmed my love of polish.

Birthday Vixen

Today is a very special post dedicated to my good friend, miss Fabulista, in honor of her birthday!  For this manicure I started with Revlon Vixen, the quintessential vampy maroon creme.  This bottle is over 5 years old and the application and dry time was still great.  I used two coats and one coat of seche vite on top.  The pictures are actually after two days, you can see that it holds up really well with no chips and minimal tip wear.

Revlon Vixen, two coats indoors with flash

Revlon Vixen, two coats indoors with flash

Revlon Vixen, two coats indoors, shade

And now for the Birthday Festivities!  I added one coat of Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday to my ring fingers to avoid glitter overkill.  HB looks GREAT on darker polishes, I love how this turned out.

Revlon Vixen with one coat Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on ring finger

Revlon Vixen with one coat Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday on ring finger

Happy Birthday, Fabulista!  I hope this makes you as happy as the time we walked through Banff singing the McDonalds Filet-o-Fish commercial.  (And happier than we felt after actually eating it.)