Glittery Skull Cameos

I always take the opportunity to use "glitter" day of the 31 Day Challenge to do some hand placed glitter nail art. I don't have the strength of mind to attempt it most other times. This time, I had some new triangle glitter I wanted to play around with, so I grabbed that and some glitter skull decals and went to town. I ended up with these pretty kickass skull cameo nails!

And you know what? The placement wasn't even that bad or time consuming!

Nail polish and products used:
Nicole by OPI Yoga Then Yogurt (white base)
Orly Glowstick (neon yellow)
Black holographic triangle glitter (use code CHALKBOARD15 for 15% off!)
Joby glittery skull decals
White wax rhinestone picker pencil

I started off by painting my nails with two coats of white, and then two coats of neon yellow. The white base helps the neon pop! I did my topcoating strategy a little differently (read: poorly), but if I had it to do over again, I would have done a layer of quick dry topcoat next.

Then, using a slow drying clear polish as the glue, I stuck on the pieces of triangle glitter one by one. I basically worked in edges, painting a thin stripe of clear along one side of my nail, placing the glitter using the wax pencil, and repeating until the outline was complete. I used tweezers to attach the skull decals. At this point, if you were following my ideal topcoat strategy, you'd apply a final coat of topcoat to seal in the glitter and the decals.

There's no such thing as too much glitter, so be sure to check out my glitter manicures from years past!

• Wet N Wild Correction Tape
• Hand placed glitter party nails
• Midnight Mermaid glitter placement

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Pop Punk Skittlette with Glittery Skull and Distressed Accents

Back in 2002, Avril Lavigne's song "Sk8er Boi" ruled my world. Can you believe that song came out over a DECADE ago? I don't know about you guys, but I was all about that unbearably catchy tune. Maybe not the most poetic single, but I don't mind admitting that I rocked out to that many times as my mom drove me to the mall.

Avril came into the style spotlight for her heavy eyeliner and stick straight hair, plus a propensity for clothing and jewelry that incorporated symbols like skulls and stars. The glittery skull and distressed accent nails in this manicure, plus the combination of rich purple and black, really make me think of the Pop Punk Princess.

Products used:
Indigo Bananas Moonlight (Clair de Lune)
Misa Loveliest of Lilacs
American Apparel Hassid
Joby Skull Glitter Nail Art Decal
Cirque Vectors

I was very excited to play with the silver flake polish by Indigo Bananas (psst...the shop also has a rose gold version). It was less dense than I expected, needing four coats for the opacity here, but it didn't get thick on the nail so I didn't mind so much. It is really beautiful and reflective.

The glittery skull decal came as a part of a sheet with gold, black, and additional silver glitter skulls. I was really impressed with these. They're way easy to use; just make sure you let your base dry before you stick it on. A great accent and it looks really clean.

The ring finger was done using my distressed nail art technique. Cirque's black glitter polish, Vectors, provides a similar effect but with a little bit more geometry.

I think Avril would have been all over this manicure back in her heyday. A little punk, a little glam... Anyone else have "Sk8er Boi" stuck in their head?

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