Outta My Skull.

More Halloweeny nails! I love doing them and I love seeing the influx of them all over the place.

A friend of mine had posted a picture of this H&M nail sticker set and I told her I loved them - and she sent them to me! An absolute darling. I can only say I'm very grateful because I love the collection of images present here.

I have skulls standing around all year.
Halloween or no Halloween.

Though it was the little alien heads that caught my attention initially, for this manicure I wanted to utilise the little skulls.

The stickers all seemed a little large to me initially but once applied it wasn't an issue.

When removing the sticker from the set I was a little surprised to find it was transparent instead of the white I was expecting, but by then I'd already coated the nail in Herôme W.I.C's 'Zagora 150'. I went ahead and applied it anyway and I can't say it looks any worse for it.
As for the rest of the nails, I wanted to complement the orange with a heavy black-white contrast. I'd considered using tape to separate the black from the white but it would have been far too clean for this look.  I wanted something grungy, and roughly sponged Catrice's '39 Black to the Routes' over 'P.S.' white so the distinction would be clear without becoming a smooth gradient.

Franken-French.

Today, on October 21, 2015, the day when Doc and Marty traveled to the future I bring you some Halloweeny nail art. I present to you the Franken-French. (And don't get started on how that should be 'Monster-of-Franken-French'.)

I wanted to keep it as subtle as is possible when you've got fake stitches running along the tips of your nails with a subdued kind of green, if you will. Chanel's '645 Paradisio' has recently entered my collection so it seemed like a good choice (and let's be honest here, I just wanted to use it, I can't resist a shiny new green).
As base to lighten the nail I used Koh's 'Orchid', and the stripes were done with Catrice's '39 Black to the Routes'. What this nail art irrefutably showed me was that I really need a new nail art brush. During this I kept alternating between the two I've got, and neither of them actually do what I need of them to.

The owls are not what they seem.

 Who's excited about the return of Twin Peaks? Meeee!

I've been wanting to do some Black Lodge inspired nail art for a while, but it kept on not happening somehow. 
Then I ordered some chevron-guide stickers and.. they were way too big for what I wanted to do, so that didn't pan out.

Then I got a pair of those scissors that cut zig-zag patterns, which is how I accomplished this. The scissors kept misbehaving though, so I'm not sure if I'll see a return of the chevron on my nails again soon. 

Damn fine cup of coffee.

The base whites are Safari's 'No56' and a Hema polish, neither of which I particularly recommend. The black, Catrice's '39 Black to the Routes'. The red nail, based on the scenery of the waiting room, is actually several shades of red stripes layered over each other to get that curtainy effect, though it's not too clear in the pictures. They are YSL, 'No04', Max Factor '549 Red Passion', Rimmel '035 Wine Not' and Koh's 'Red!'.

Deco.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I had become inspired by some art deco patterns I'd seen, and added a picture of a failed attempt at doing some nail art along those (proverbial but I guess also literal) lines.
Though the execution didn't quite go as intended at the time, the inspiration itself still tugged at me and I was up for trying something else. Gold on its own isn't really my thing, but use it sparingly and as an effect colour next to black and I'm happy to wear it.

Art deco is of course marked by its symmetry and its geometry, and it is easy to miss the mark when you utilise a technique like water marbling which doesn't always grant you that much control, but I think I did alright in retaining the general vibe of the style here.
Polish used are Dior's '668 City of Gold' and Catrice's '39 Black to the Routes'.

Rest in Peace, Leonard Nimoy.

I took a break from nail art, which unintentionally turned into a break from posting as a whole. Real life situations, and relying only on a temperamental laptop kept me away. I've built up a small backlog of photos I'll be posting in the future, but for now I want to post some new nail art.

On Friday the 27th, Leonard Nimoy passed away at the age of 83.
I'm a long-time Star Trek fan, and though he had lived a long and full life, it's still upsetting to see a hero go.


So my return to this blog is a little nail-art tribute to the original Mr. Spock.

I'm very sad about his passing, and I don't really have any more words to express it, so I'll just continue by listing the polishes used.




Base - Rimmel, '825 Sky High', Spock face - Essence, '03 Cotton Candy',
Blue - Koh, '217 No Worries', Hair & lettering - Catrice, '39 Black to the Routes'.

Black & Blue.

Another half-rhombus. By now a cliché trademark choice.

I needed a new black since my older ones are getting droopy and no longer as easy to restore with a drop or two of nail polish thinner. Wanted to combine a light colour and that black in something easy.

Catrice, '39 Black to the Routes' & Rimmel, '198 Azure'.