He Loves Me... Not

I had to try the new Shellac black, but then it was too dark for me...  so I added color!

I used Shellac Base, Overtly Onyx, Hotski to Tchotchke, Purple Purple, Red Baroness, Top Coat.

More Girly Art!

Had some free time, so I tried some more girly nails for the bride tomorrow - more conservative.  I started with a French, because in my experience even the wildest brides tend to get French or natural for the wedding.

The bright one is supposed to be a butterfly wing; I saw it on Pinterest but it didn't turn out quite as nice as I remember.

Butterfly:  OPI It's A Girl, Hawaiian Orchid, Black Onyx, Essie Blanc, Seche Vite Top Coat.
Wing:  OPI Pompei Purple, Black Onyx, Essie Blanc, Seche Vite Top Coat.
Poppy French:  Essie Blanc, Mademoiselle  OPI Color So Hot It Berns, Half A Cent-Cherry, Black Onyx, Seche Vite Top Coat.
Purple Flower French: Essie Blanc, Mademoiselle, OPI Honk If You Love OPI, Suzi & The 7 Dusseldorfs, Seche Vite Top Coat.
Music French:  Essie Blanc, Mademoiselle, OPI Black Onyx, Seche Vite Top Coat.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I never bothered to topcoat the stamping on my hands from my last post, so they were already starting to chip.  (Also, I work in a nail spa, so it's tough for me to make it last more than a day.)
But then I ran across Kayla's blog and contest, (congrats Kayla!) and I thought it was a perfect excuse to do some real art!  (Even though I work in a nail spa and will ruin them tomorrow.)

CND Sticky Base Coat, Urban Outfitters blue glitter (tips, polish is unnamed), OPI Gone Gonzo, Black Onyx, And This Little Piggy, I Want To Be A-Lone Star, Hawaiian Orchid, The "It" Color, No Room For The Blues, Claire's Flame, Orly Blue Collar.

I like to think of thoughts as living blossoms borne by the human tree.

Two nights ago I decided to go out at the last minute, and I realized I'd just removed my toenail polish!  I can't go out with bare toes (even if my shoes were close-toed), so I quickly whipped on OPI DS Temptation and went without a top coat.

Today, I added cherry blossoms with Honk If You Love OPI and Steady As She Rose.  Orly Rubberized Base Coat and 3-in-1 Top Coat.
(Like the texture on the background?  It's the dashboard of my Lover's car, cos this was another hurried set.)

When you go in search of honey you must expect to be stung by bees.

It felt like spring today!
To be fair, this winter has been so mild, it's felt like spring a lot...

The green and yellow together reminds me for some reason of Ninja Turtles...

I used Yellow Stopper Base Coat, OPI No Room For The Blues, Don't Mess With OPI, The "It" Color, Black Onyx, Ulta Moody Blues, Essie Red Nouveau, Splash of Grenadine, Claire's Flame, Orly French White and 3-in-1 Top Coat.

Flower Toes

I needed to do my toes...  I almost did just a plain color, then decided to put some flowers on.

I used CND Base and Top, OPI Pink Before You Leap, Road House Blues, Orly Pointe Blanche.

Let Us Dance In The Sun, Wearing Wildflowers In Our Hair...

I know it's been a while.  Let's start with a picture:

And now I'll explain - way back when I started this blog, I was working as a salon receptionist.  That is to say, I was encouraged to have my nails polished, especially by the company's brand.  Then I started doing nails, and it was just impractical to have them polished - removing everyone else's ruined mine every day, but I tried to keep it up for a few months.  I moved to a different nail place, where gloves were permitted, but then got a professional job.  I'm still pretty new there, so I'll wait a bit before painting my hands.  The other women keep theirs light or natural, and while I'm comfortable standing out, I actually like my job and don't want to stand out in a bad way.  ;)
I'll try to keep up on my toes in the mean time.

Orly Base and Top, Hook Up petals, OPI Midnight in Moscow all over, Rue Beaute 146 petals, Finger Paints Sketchy Character and Meet Me at the Met center, Sally Hansen Black Out center

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

It's been raining for most of a week here, and is scheduled to continue for another week.  Instead of being sad about the rain, I decided to be happy that I don't have to water my flowers (not including the one that died cos it got too cold, but I digress).  Tulips are possibly my favorite flower - also, they're reasonably simple to draw, even left-handed - and my partner isn't keen on having more (than the one by the porch).  Admittedly, their bloom period is short, but I still love them.  Same with lilacs...

It occurred to me after that I should have reversed the colors - the dark blue as the clouds, and the gray as the sky/background...  Oh well, next time. 

MK Perfect Surface Base Coat, Ulta Moody Blues (base), OPI I Want To Be A-Lone Star (clouds), Big Hair...Big Nails, A-Rose at Dawn...Broke by Noon, Rose to the Ovation, Flashbulb Fuchsia, Orly Hook Up, Finger Paints Scenery Greenery, Sally Hansen Pure White Tip, Cherry Red, Love & Beauty Fuchsia, Beauty Secrets Top Coat.

Did perpetual happiness in the Garden of Eden perhaps get so boring that eating the apple was justified?

April is National Gardening Month!  I've "planted" a mixture of vegetables and flowers for your viewing pleasure.

Cucumber, carrot, plumeria, tomato...

Broccoli, sunflower, daisy, hot pepper...  (Yes, clearly I should have used a reference for some of these...)

Rose (what, you can't see that?), pansy.

Base is MaryKay Perfect Surface, and the red on all nails is also MaryKay but I can't read the name...  Rose something, I think.  Wet 'n' Wild Metallic Green, Orly Hook Up, Sally Hansen Pure White Tip, Cherry Red and Spark, Finger Paints Scenery Greenery and Sketchy Character, Beauty Secrets top coat.

Tips - Animals and Nature

The last two sets of beauty school tips:

Animals:

You get the flash and no-flash shots, cos I couldn't decide which looked better.  First is pink zebra stripe, suggested by a classmate (but I couldn't do just black n white!), then ladybug print cos my baby is obsessed with them, then a bumblebee, dalmatian, and spiderweb.

Nature:
                                                                                                                                                                     
The first is a sunburst, the second is a flower design after a temporary tattoo I had once, third and fourth are roses, fifth is a sunflower, sixth is the sun on an ocean, seventh is lightening, eighth is a crescent moon and stars.  Still working on the photography thing...
Aren't you glad I did these in sets instead of individuals!?