Something Blue...

Just a quick post from me today for the 31 Day Challenge "Blue" prompt because... I'M ENGAGED! My longtime boyfriend popped the question this morning, and I didn't want to spend a bunch of time on detailed nail art when we could be celebrating. So here's my quick engagement themed nail look, do you think this would qualify as my "something blue"? :)

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Autumnal Orange Plaid Gel Nail Art

Today's 31DC prompt is "orange." Not many people tend to reach for orange when choosing a nail color -- I think that it and yellow are the redheaded stepchildren of the polish world (or would it be orangeheaded?). That's the great thing about the challenge though, it forces you to use colors and techniques that you wouldn't normally use.

For this manicure, I started with a base of OPI GelColor in A Great Opera-tunity. Then, I freehanded the plaid striping using OPI GelColor It's a Piazza Cake, Gelish Tiki Tiki Laranga, and Wildflower's Art Paints in Bright Blue.

I finished with a layer of gel topcoat to smooth it all out.

If you've got the need for more orange, be sure to check out my past orange challenge manicures!

• Mario Batali's Crocs nail art
• Orange gradient chevrons
• Orange fruit tips
• Orange with dotted accent

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Blue promarker rose nail art

Here's another nail art with the Born Pretty Store stamping plate BP-73. I did a more detailed review HERE (like exact measurements of the images etc) but here's some more inspiration of how it can be used. :)

I had my blue metallic base from yesterday. Then I choose a rose floral design with thin-lined-flowers and then used a Promarker pen in blue to fill in the empties. This is just so super simple, like a child coloring book, yet it looks very crisp and "advanced" because of the stamping. Super happy with this look. :D

BP-73 with itemID: 20790

Polishes and products used:
Promarker pencil - True Blue
Dance Legend - Creep, swatch
MoYou's special black nail polish
Born Pretty Store image plate - BP-73

Here's my code NGL91 for Born Pretty Store where you can find nail art like stamping plates but also much more. The code works for non-discounted products. Also free shipping on all orders.

***Some products in this post have been provided for review, however it has not changed my opinion about them.***

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Dance Legend - Creep, swatch

This is a polish with an interesting finish, Creep is from the HammeRing collection from Dance Legend. The finish is also that, it looks like hammered metal, like a crinkled but perfectly smooth
surface. No brush strokes since the polish seems to bubble into a pattern, without actual bubbles, if that makes sense? This is the only collection and brand I've seen this finish in. (correct me if I'm wrong).

Creep is a light blue metallic which covers in one simple coat, in the sun it also looks really bright(!) and eye-catching. Below is without topcoat since the tc ruins the effect slightly. Here I have with basecoat, but I read after that without bc the effect is even greater (Edit: Lakobotan just told me that it stains so no bc seems like a bad idea after all..All you read on-line isn't true!). I like this a lot, it's my kind of color and the effect is really interesting even though I wish it was more eye-catching and perhaps enhanced with tc, I do love wearing my mani's with tc. ;) What do you think?

This picture shows the finish almost the best, it's like irregular circular shapes.

Got this from a nail polish swap with @lakobotan.

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Lakobotan Franken Polish - Little Mermaid, swatch

Hi, today I have a special post, I've got the honor to try some of Lakobotan's franken polish, the first one out is the one she calls Little Mermaid. ^^

Little Mermaid has a jeans blue colored quite linear holo base and then a perfect mix of tiny holo glitter. The combo is really nice, in sunshine it sparkles insanely and in softer light the holo glitter appears like a night sky over the blue which then looks like shimmer.  Formula and application wise it was great too, almost a one coater but I added 2 coats in the end which went on like butter. I really liked this and I also got compliments while wearing it. Photo spam to come, my camera couldn't almost handle all the sparkles!

And below are some photos in natural light. The base appears more shimmery than holo and the holo glitter really sparkles.

Just look at the bottle, it reminds me of fish scales which also makes the name of it so suiting!

Thanks @lakobotan ! :)

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Look Ever - 22, swatch (ice cream bottle polish)

I guess you understand why I bought this? The bottle!! ;) Also the color was really nice, it's super bright blue with a drop of green in it. It was also super hard to photograph accurately, and below is my best try of making it as color accurate as possible, the polish is slightly darker, but still as bright as this. It covered really well and was almost a onecoater but I did end up with 2 coats. The bubbles showing are my own fault with the base polish and not because of the polish. I'm super happy with this ice cream bottle polish. :D It's 52 degrees Celsius in the sun atm and I'm thinking of visiting my boyfriend with some (real) ice cream's at his work.

Bought from a facebook polish sale group along with some other polishes. Maybe I payed 1 euro+ shipping? At the time I bought this I couldn't find any ice cream polishes at eBay, but now there has been a refill (suddenly they are everywhere) I guess so I just recently bought some more colors. Hope they will be as nice as this one. :)

This is btw the polish I used in my blue stone nail art I showed before. :)

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The Easiest Nail Art Ever: Sharpie Marbled Gel Nails

If you recently found yourself wondering, "Gee, what has Sarah been wearing on her nails for the past two weeks?" then you're in luck! I have been wearing this Sharpie marbled gel manicure into the ground.

Sean was even like, "Whoa, those are really grown out. When are you gonna change that?" When I finally took them off on Monday, I sent a snap to my sister and she replied "FINALLY!"

So yeah, I got the point, people. It was time for them to go.

Sharpie marbles are ALL the rage right now. Everyone at my nail school was crazy for them! I've seen a bunch of tutorials for this look, but the one that I used was by Celina Ryden.

Honestly, these were SO easy you guys. You should go check out the tutorial, but here's the basic gist:

1. Perform a gel polish manicure like you normally would, including prep, base coat, and color coat. Stop before you apply top gel.
2. Use alcohol and a lint free wipe to remove the tacky layer from your color gel. Celina's instructions recommend a buffed nail, but I found that to be enough.
3. Working one color at a time, doodle small marks on your nails with a Sharpie.
4. Dab a small brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol on top of your doodles to spread out the ink.
5. Repeat with as many colors as you want!
6. Finish with top gel, cure, and remove the tacky layer.

One tricky thing that I ran into was that, sometimes, the Sharpie/alcohol mix would run into my cuticles before it could evaporate, leaving them blue and icky. I ended up fixing that problem by ignoring it until the end (after curing the top gel), and then cleansing the tacky layer with acetone. It removed the Sharpie residue from my cuticles completely without damaging the cured gel. Of course, this method will only work with gels.

I used Presto SC-32 as my base color, which is basically my favorite gel ever, as it looks just like OPI My Vampire is Buff. I was also a bad girl and combined it with my Gelish Foundation and Top It Off, because I like the system so much. They lasted me a good 2 weeks (plus an extra 2 days, at that)!

Have you given into the Sharpie trend yet?

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KIKO - 341, swatch

For this Blue Monday I have KIKO - 341 which is a slight dark but still very bright blue with a hint of green in it. I'd describe it as aqua. (The second pic might the the most color accurate, the others a slightly too light) The formula was awesome, almost one coat but in the end I needed 2 coats to make it 100% opaque. 

Bought in a KIKO store for sale 1 euro.

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P2 - Mint Flavour Dots, layering and swatch

Let's have a small pause from the textures and look at some glitter instead!

I was happy to find this polish called Mint Flavour Dots from P2's LE Just Dream Like; spring fav nail top coat. It's a clear base filled with tiny white dots, white matte shredded glitter and matte hexagons in light and bright green and blue. I used three dabbing coats here over the aqua colored KIKO - 341. This teal blue ensemble is also my contribution to Blue Monday where you can check out more blue manis.

I'll show KIKO - 341 alone in a future post and all and all I liked Mint Flavour Dots. I'm really fond of shredded glitter. xD

Closeup of the glitter ^^

Bought at DM for (I think) 2.25 euro.

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