Girly and Gilded Mix & Match

A few weeks ago, my sister Kelsey stopped by to get her nails done. You may remember her (and her nails!) from the last time we did a nail photoshoot featuring leopard print and a faux fur lined jacket. We were talking about manicure ideas and decided to do a girly mix and match featuring pinks, golds, and black. I did some sketching while we hammered out the details, and once the manicure was done, we did a mini photo shoot!

Polishes used:
Seche Dives In Head First
Seche Pretty Little Heartbreaker
American Apparel Hassid
Zoya Kerry
Cirque Colors Au - related here

Embellishments used:
Bundle Monster plate BM-008 (crown)
From the Heart 1 plate (Be Mine and I Love You) - similar here
Black, gold, and silver rhinestones - similar here
Hex Nail Jewelry Etched Hearts

It's no secret that stamping isn't my strong suit, and let me tell you... it was even harder for me to do on someone else! Thankfully, Kelsey was patient with me.

The 3D embellishments turned out just right -- not too much, not too little. My favorite nail might be the black rhinestone "K" on the gold base, though I do love a good polka dot, too.

I enjoy doing these combination manicure/photoshoots, though they do take a lot to get from start to finish! Thank you to my dahling sister for doing the modeling!

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31DC2013 Day 17: Midnight Mermaid Glitter Placement

If there's one day to tackle a glitter placement manicure, it's the "Glitter" day of the 31 Day Challenge. So I put on my big girl pants and said a prayer to the god of glitter placement, Polish All the Nails.

I had some loose circle glitter that I hadn't used yet, so I decided to start with that. I picked a pot of holographic black glitters and set to work placing them all over a black base.

I used a white wax pencil to do the actual placement. This thing is seriously a lifesaver -- it allows you to grab and place the glitter precisely with no leftover residue. If you ever do 3D or placement nail art and you don't have one of these yet, I highly recommend them.

The glitter is attached with topcoat. I painted stripes of topcoat before attaching each vertical row of glitter, and the entire manicure is topped with an additional three coats of Seche Vite.

The circular shape of these glitters make them look like fish scales, and so I've been calling this manicure "the midnight mermaid." It's insanely sparkly.

Since this manicure was essentially black on black, it was tough to photograph, especially in direct light. I did want to make an effort though, so you could get a better idea of the holographic nature of the glitter!

Then finally, I wanted to do something I've never tried before... an animated GIF!

PRETTY DARN FUN IF YOU ASK ME! Look at that glitter light up! You can also check out the InstaVideo that I posted of this manicure to watch even MORE footage of the glitter in action.

More 31 Day Challenge
View upcoming prompts!
My glitter nails from 2012!
My glitter nails from 2011!

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